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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday threatened legal action over falling debris and contamination from billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket launches across the border in the United States.Mexico’s government was studying which international laws were being violated in order to file “the necessary lawsuits” because “there is indeed contamination,” Sheinbaum told her morning news conference.Last week, a SpaceX Starship rocket exploded during a routine ground test at the Starbase headquarters of Musk’s space project on the south Texas coast near the Mexican border.The explosion — which sent a towering fireball into the air — was the latest setback to Musk’s dream of sending humans to Mars.Mexican officials are carrying out a “comprehensive review” of the environmental impacts of the rocket launches for the neighboring state of Tamaulipas, Sheinbaum said.The US Federal Aviation Administration approved an increase in annual Starship rocket launches from five to 25 in early May, stating that the increased frequency would not adversely affect the environment.The decision overruled objections from conservation groups that had warned the expansion could endanger sea turtles and shorebirds.A lawsuit would be the latest legal tussle between Mexico and a US corporate giant.In May, Sheinbaum’s government said it had sued Google for renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” for Google Maps users in the United States following an executive order by President Donald Trump.

A Mississippi man who has been on Death Row for nearly 50 years is to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday, one of two executions in the United States this week.Richard Jordan, 79, was convicted in 1976 of the murder of Edwina Marter, the wife of a bank executive in the town of Gulfport.Jordan, a shipyard worker, kidnapped Marter from her home and demanded a $25,000 ransom.He was apprehended when he went to pick up the money.Jordan confessed to murdering Marter and led the authorities to her body, which had been hidden in a forest. She had been shot.Jordan is to be executed at 6:00 pm Central Time (2300 GMT) at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman.Jordan’s scheduled execution comes one day after that of Thomas Gudinas, 51, who was put to death by lethal injection in Florida on Tuesday.Gudinas was sentenced to death in 1995 for the murder of Michelle McGrath, who was last seen leaving a bar in the city of Orlando in the early hours.McGrath’s battered body was found the next day and Gudinas was arrested shortly afterwards.Florida has carried out more executions — seven — than any other US state so far this year.The execution in Mississippi will be the first in the southern state since December 2022.There have been 24 executions in the United States this year: 19 by lethal injection, two by firing squad and three by nitrogen hypoxia, which involves pumping nitrogen gas into a face mask, causing the prisoner to suffocate.The use of nitrogen gas as an execution method has been denounced by United Nations experts as cruel and inhumane.The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others — California, Oregon and Pennsylvania — have moratoriums in place.President Donald Trump is a proponent of capital punishment, and on his first day in office called for an expansion of its use “for the vilest crimes.”

A US commercial mission carrying astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary blasted off to the International Space Station on Wednesday, marking the first time in decades that these nations have sent crew members to space.Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 2:31 am (0631 GMT), with a brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket.The vehicle is scheduled to dock with the orbital lab on Thursday at approximately 1100 GMT and remain there for up to 14 days.Aboard the spacecraft were pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India; mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary; and commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, a former NASA astronaut who now works for the company Axiom Space, which organizes private spaceflights, among other things.The last time India, Poland or Hungary sent people to space, their current crop of astronauts had not yet been born — and back then they were called cosmonauts, as they all flew on Soviet missions before the fall of the Iron Curtain.Shukla became the first Indian in space since Rakesh Sharma, an air force pilot who traveled to the Salyut 7 space station in 1984 as part of a Soviet-led initiative to help allied countries access space.India’s space agency, ISRO, sees this flight as a key stepping stone toward its own maiden crewed mission, planned for 2027 under the Gaganyaan program, meaning “sky craft.””What a fantastic ride,” Shukla said in Hindi after liftoff. “This isn’t just the start of my journey to the International Space Station — it’s the beginning of India’s human space program.”Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the successful launch.”He carries with him the wishes, hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians. Wish him and other astronauts all the success!” he wrote on X.All three countries are footing the bill for their astronauts. Hungary announced in 2022 it was paying $100 million for its seat, according to spacenews.com. India and Poland have not disclosed how much they are spending.”We’ve got this! Poland has reached for the stars,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X, alongside a video himself watching the launch on a screen at the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw.”Who knows how many future Polish astronauts watched Slawosz’s launch with me? Everyone was very excited and very proud,” Tusk said in another post, which included a photo of him seated next to several children at the science center.- Space spat -The Ax-4 launch comes after technical issues delayed the mission, originally slated for early June.It also follows an online spat between US President Donald Trump and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and, until recently, Trump’s ally and advisor.Trump threatened to yank SpaceX’s federal contracts — worth tens of billions of dollars — prompting Musk to threaten an early retirement of Dragon, the only US spacecraft currently certified to carry astronauts to the ISS.Musk walked back the threat a few hours later and in the days that followed continued to deescalate, stating on X that he had gone “too far.”Any rupture between SpaceX and the US government would be massively disruptive, given NASA and the Pentagon’s reliance on Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy to send up crew, cargo, satellites and probes.But for now, analysts believe both sides are too entangled to risk a serious break.The Ax-4 flight marks the debut of the fifth and final Crew Dragon vehicle, which was named “Grace” after it reached orbit joining Endeavour, Resilience, Endurance and Freedom in the active fleet.”It reflects the elegance with which we move through space against the backdrop of Earth,” said Commander Whitson. “It speaks to the refinement of our mission, the harmony of science and spirit and the unmerited favor we carry with humility.”SpaceX ultimately plans to phase out its current vehicles in the 2030s in favor of Starship, its giant next-generation rocket currently in development.

Furnace-like heat and the threat of thunder and lightning are wreaking havoc at the Club World Cup — and more of the same is likely at the 2026 World Cup.With the latest in a series of brutal, climate change-driven record heatwaves blanketing the eastern United States, adapting to the weather has become a key focus for coaches and players.Borussia Dortmund took the unusual step of leaving their substitutes in the dressing room for the first half of their game against Mamelodi Sundowns in Cincinnati, rather than have them sitting on the bench in blazing sunshine.Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca meanwhile cut short his team’s training session in Philadelphia on Monday as the City of Brotherly Love baked in temperatures of 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37.2 degrees Celsius).Dortmund coach Niko Kovac, meanwhile, said the weather could ultimately shape the destiny of the tournament.”I think that this tournament will be decided not by the best team, but the team that can adapt to these weather conditions the best. They will probably win this tournament,” Kovac said.While cooling breaks midway through each half have become standard during the tournament, Dortmund, like other teams, are taking extra steps to mitigate the heat and humidity.”Our boys are very well taken care of by our doctors and the medical staff,” Kovac said.”We have very cold towels. We put them in ice baths. The boys also need to cool down their legs and their feet in cold water and ice baths.”The experience of the Club World Cup is likely a preview of what can be expected at next year’s men’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.A recent study published by the International Journal of Biometeorology warned of the risk posed by extreme heat at the tournament for players and spectators, citing climate change as a cause of “extreme heat” events that were “more frequent and intense”.- Storm disruptions -The study analysing data gathered between 2003-2022 concluded that 14 of the 16 host cities being used for the 2026 World Cup experienced temperatures that frequently exceeded the commonly accepted safe thresholds for wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) — a widely used measure for heat stress.The study argued for games to be scheduled outside of the afternoon windows when conditions were typically at their most demanding.In addition to the fierce heat and humidity, teams at the Club World Cup have also had to deal with matches being halted due to the threat of lightning.On Tuesday, Boca Juniors’ game against Auckland City became the fifth match of the tournament to experience a lengthy delay due to public safety regulations used in the United States that mandate play is halted whenever lightning is within 10 miles (16.1 kilometres) of a stadium.A weather delay in Benfica’s game against Auckland led to an interruption in play of nearly two hours.National Weather Service official Ben Schott, who advises FIFA and the US World Cup taskforce for 2026, says the kind of weather affecting the ongoing competition is not out of the ordinary, and said teams and fans next year should plan accordingly.”Nothing that we’re seeing right now is unusual even though we are breaking records,” Schott told AFP. “Most of the eastern United States is breaking records, and then that happens almost every summer. To expect something similar next year as a possibility is something that people should prepare for if you’re going to come and enjoy the games.”While heat was an issue when the United States last hosted the World Cup finals in 1994, no games at that tournament were halted by storm warnings.That is due to increasingly sophisticated forecasting technology, Schott said.”We’re at a point now where we can start to see things almost a week in advance and predict them pretty accurately, as compared to 15-20 years ago,” Schott said. “The advances in meteorology since we last had the World Cup here in 1994 have been substantial.”Schott said thunder and lightning were “par for the course” in several regions of North America.”This is pretty typical for United States weather for this time of the year,” Schott said.”We get a lot of moisture that pumps in from the Gulf of Mexico, and they get the afternoon thunderstorms pop up.”So as we move towards World Cup 2026, things that we’re seeing right now would be quite typical to be seen again.”Football’s world governing body FIFA said in a statement to AFP that “the health of everyone involved in football” was a “top priority”, pointing to the implementation of measures such as cooling breaks and the use of up to six substitutions if a match goes into extra time.”FIFA will continue to monitor the weather conditions in coordination with the venue teams to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone involved,” the statement added.rcw/gj

Young self-declared socialist Zohran Mamdani was on the cusp of stunning victory Wednesday in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary — pummeling his scandal-scarred establishment rival in a race seen as a fight for the future of the Democratic Party.Results were not yet final. But Mamdani — who is just 33 and would become the city’s first Muslim mayor — had such a commanding lead that his biggest rival, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, conceded defeat overnight. Mamdani’s success was seen as a rebuke to Democratic centrists who backed the powerful Cuomo, as the party flails nationally in search of a way to counter Republican President Donald Trump’s hard-right movement.The Ugandan-born Mamdani was behind Cuomo in polls until near the end, surging on a message of lower rents, free daycare and other populist ideas in the notoriously expensive US city.”Tonight we made history,” he said in a victory speech to supporters. New Yorkers “have stood up for a city they can afford.”Cuomo, a 67-year-old political veteran vying to come back from a sexual harassment scandal, told supporters: “Tonight was not our night.””I called him, I congratulated him,” he said.Mamdani had taken 43 percent of the vote with 95 percent of ballots counted, according to city officials. Cuomo was at around 36 percent and appeared to have no chance to catch his rival.However, the contest is ranked-choice, with voters asked to select five candidates in order of preference. When no candidate wins 50 percent of the vote outright, election officials start the time consuming process of eliminating the lowest-ranking candidates and retabulating.- Prime Trump target? -Cuomo had big money and near universal name recognition in the city, as a former governor and son of another governor.However, he was weighed down by having quit in disgrace four years ago after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment. He was also accused of mismanaging the state’s response to the Covid pandemic.Even so, Mamdani’s success was stunning.The son of Indian-origin immigrants, he is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America party — the kind of niche, leftist affiliation that many Democratic leaders believe their party needs to shed.The fact that Mamdani speaks out for Palestinians and has accused Israel of “genocide” also makes him a prime target for Trump, a fellow New Yorker.His supporters include two favorite Trump foils — fiery leftist Senator Bernie Sanders and progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who both congratulated Mamdani.”Billionaires and lobbyists poured millions against you and our public finance system. And you won,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X. Sanders posted: “You took on the political, economic and media Establishment — and you beat them.”Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate, called Mamdani “too extreme for a city already on edge.” And Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, told New Yorkers “who are not Communists: Come to Texas!”- Big ideas, low experience -Currently a New York state assemblyman representing the borough of Queens, Mamdani’s eye-catching policy proposals include freezing rent for many New Yorkers, free bus service, and universal childcare.In a city where a three-bedroom apartment can easily cost $6,000 a month, his message struck a chord.Voter Eamon Harkin, 48, said prices were his “number one issue.””What’s at stake is primarily the affordability of New York,” he said.But Sheryl Stein, who works in tourism marketing, was skeptical.”I like youth,” she said. But Mamdani having “no experience and no proven track record to run the largest city in this country and one of the largest in the world is pretty scary.”The confirmed winner will face several contenders in November, including current Mayor Eric Adams, who is a Democrat but has vowed to run again as an independent.

As the US Supreme Court winds down its term ahead of the summer break, there are a number of cases still to be decided.The court is scheduled to issue opinions on Thursday and these are the major outstanding cases:- Birthright citizenship -The case is ostensibly about Donald Trump’s bid to scrap birthright citizenship but it actually turns on whether federal judges have the right to issue nationwide blocks to presidential decrees.It is perhaps the most significant of the remaining cases since it could have far-reaching ramifications for the ability of the judiciary to rein in Trump or future US presidents.Trump’s executive order ending automatic citizenship for children born on American soil has been paused by district courts in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington that deemed it unconstitutional.But the question before the Supreme Court is whether a single district court can freeze an executive branch move with a universal injunction.The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to restrict the application of a district court’s injunction solely to the parties who brought the case and the district where the judge presides.Whatever the nine justices decide, the actual question of whether Trump can legally end birthright citizenship is expected to be back in front of the top court before long.- Porn site age verification -The case — Free Speech Coalition vs Paxton — involves a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify visitors’ ages, part of a growing effort to limit access by minors to online sexual content.Texas is one of nearly 20 states to institute such a requirement, which critics argue violates First Amendment free speech rights.A district court sided with a challenge by an adult entertainment industry trade group, the Free Speech Coalition, saying the law restricted access by adults to constitutionally protected content.But a conservative-dominated appeals court upheld the age verification requirement, prompting the trade group to take its case to the Supreme Court, where conservatives have a 6-3 supermajority.- Students and LGBTQ-themed content -This religious rights case examines whether parents have the right to pull their children from public school classes when books containing LGBTQ-related content are read or discussed.The schools, in a Maryland county, had offered parents the chance to opt out of classes featuring books aimed at combating prejudice and discussing gender identity and homosexuality, but later retracted the option.Parents are suing because the opt-outs were canceled. They say the schools’ inclusive curriculum choices infringe on their Christian and Muslim faiths and First Amendment rights. Court precedent has generally established that exposing students to ideas contrary to religion does not constitute coercion.- Planned Parenthood funding -South Carolina’s Republican governor, Henry McMaster, issued an executive order in 2018 cutting off reimbursements to the two Planned Parenthood clinics in the state for services the reproductive health organization provided to low-income Americans under the government Medicaid program.The Medicaid reimbursements were not for abortion-related services, but McMaster said providing any funding to Planned Parenthood amounts to a taxpayer “subsidy of abortion,” which is banned in South Carolina for women who are more than six weeks pregnant.Planned Parenthood, which provides a range of health services, filed suit against the state arguing that Medicaid patients have the right to receive care from any qualified provider.An appeals court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot be excluded from the state’s Medicaid program and South Carolina appealed to the Supreme Court.- Voting rights -This case is a challenge by a group of white voters to a congressional map adopted last year by the state legislature of Louisiana creating a second Black majority district.Black people make up one-third of the population of Louisiana, which has six congressional districts, and generally vote Democratic.Opponents of the redrawn map argue that using race to design congressional maps is racial gerrymandering prohibited by the Constitution.The eventual Supreme Court ruling could have an impact on whether Democrats or Republicans control the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections.

A court on Tuesday ordered Costa Rican authorities to release foreign migrants locked up in a shelter after being deported by the United States, according to a resolution issued on the eve of a visit by the US secretary of homeland security.Some 200 migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Russia as well as from Africa and some other Asian countries, including 80 children, were brought to the Central American nation in February under an agreement with the US administration of President Donald Trump, a move criticized by human rights organizations.By partially accepting an appeal filed in March on behalf of the migrants, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice gave immigration 15 days to process the “determination of the immigration status of the deportees” and their release, according to the resolution seen by AFP.The migrants were detained in February at the Temporary Migrant Care Center (CATEM), 360 kilometers (220 miles) south of San Jose, on the border with Panama.However, in the face of criticism, the government allowed them to move freely outside the center in April.Some accepted voluntary repatriation but about 28 of them remain at CATEM, 13 of them minors, according to official data.The habeas corpus petition continued until it was resolved Tuesday, and would serve as a precedent to prevent a similar agreement. The court also ordered Costa Rican authorities to “determine what type of health, education, housing, and general social assistance they require from the State.” The resolution was published one day before a visit by US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who will meet with President Rodrigo Chaves and tour the Los Lagos temporary immigration detention center.In March, an Afghan woman behind bars at CATEM told AFP she had fled her country because she wanted to study and work and not be forced to live with a man.She said if she was forced to return to Afghanistan, “the Taliban will kill her.” The Taliban authorities’ crackdown on women’s rights has led to the arbitrary arrest and detention of many women and girls in Afghanistan.In addition to Costa Rica, Trump sent 300 deportees, mostly Asians, to Panama and 252 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, accused without evidence of being members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang.They were imprisoned in a Salvadoran mega-prison for gang members. 

New York City Democrats chose 33-year-old Muslim socialist Zohran Mamdani as their mayoral candidate in Tuesday’s elections, stunning his opponent, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo.In what appears to be the left-leaning city’s rebuke of the Democratic Party’s veteran moderates — and New York’s rarely claimed native son, Republican US President Donald Trump — Mamdani led with 43 percent of the vote with 95 percent of ballots counted, city officials reported.”Tonight we made history,” Mamdani said in his victory speech surrounded by supporters after surging from behind.”We have won because New Yorkers have stood up for a city they can afford,” he added. “A city where they can do more than just struggle.”The 67-year-old Cuomo, a political veteran who was vying to come back from a sexual harassment scandal, told supporters at an election night party: “Tonight was not our night.”He said: “I called him, I congratulated him… he won.” The party’s primary contest featured almost a dozen candidates seeking to become mayor of the biggest US city, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one.Voters cast ballots during a smothering heatwave before polls closed at 9:00 pm (0100 GMT Wednesday), but results may take time to finalize. The contest is ranked-choice, with voters asked to select five candidates in order of preference, and neither Cuomo nor Mamdani claimed the required majority Tuesday. If no candidate wins 50 percent of the vote, election officials begin eliminating lowest-ranking candidates and recounting, a process that can take days. With the Democrats reeling nationally from Trump’s presidential election win last year, the high-profile city race has done little to calm party nerves. But Mamdani’s upbeat campaign, built with youthful social media savvy and campaign promises to improve the city’s affordability, appears to have resonated with voters.- Prime Trump target? -Cuomo stepped down as New York governor four years ago after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment. He was also accused of mismanaging the state’s response to the Covid pandemic.Staunchly pro-Israel Cuomo led in polls for most of the race, with massive name recognition as the son of another New York governor, as well as support from powerful centrist figures including former president Bill Clinton.Mamdani is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America — the kind of niche, leftist affiliation that might work in the Big Apple but many analysts warn against.The fact that Mamdani speaks out for Palestinians and has accused Israel of “genocide” also makes him a prime target for Trump. His supporters include two favorite Trump foils — fiery leftist Senator Bernie Sanders and progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who both congratulated Mamdani.”Billionaires and lobbyists poured millions against you and our public finance system. And you won,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X. Sanders posted: “You took on the political, economic and media Establishment — and you beat them.”Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate, said Mamdani “is too extreme for a city already on edge.” He added on X: “This is not the time for radical politics. It is time for real leadership… Let’s win this on November 4th!”Voters told AFP they saw the ballot as an opportunity to guide party politics.”I see it as a referendum of the Democratic Party, whether we lean more towards the centrist candidate, who’s maybe from a different generation of politicians and people in society, or a younger, left-leaning, more ambitious, idealistic party,” voter Nicholas Zantal, 31, said.- Big ideas, low experience -Currently a New York state assemblyman representing the borough of Queens, Mamdani stands out for his energetic campaigning style and eye-catching policy proposals that include freezing rent for many New Yorkers, providing free bus service, and universal childcare.And in a wildly expensive city, where a three-bedroom apartment can easily cost $6,000 a month, his message struck a chord with some.Voter Eamon Harkin, 48, said prices were his “number one issue.””What’s at stake is primarily the affordability of New York,” he said.But Sheryl Stein, who works in tourism marketing, was skeptical.”I like youth,” she said. But Mamdani having “no experience and no proven track record to run the largest city in this country and one of the largest in the world is pretty scary.”The confirmed winner of the Democratic Party nomination will face several contenders in November, including current Mayor Eric Adams, who is a Democrat but has vowed to run again as an independent.”What NYC deserves is a mayor who’s proud to run on his record — not one who ran from his record or one who has no record,” he said.

Efforts to vaccinate children against deadly diseases are faltering across the world due to economic inequality, Covid-era disruptions and misinformation, putting millions of lives at risk, research warned Wednesday.These trends all increase the threat of future outbreaks of preventable diseases, the researchers said, while sweeping foreign aid cuts threaten previous progress in vaccinating the world’s children.A new study published in The Lancet journal looked at childhood vaccination rates across 204 countries and territories.It was not all bad news. An immunisation programme by the World Health Organization was estimated to have saved an estimated 154 million lives over the last 50 years.And vaccination coverage against diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, polio and tuberculosis doubled between 1980 and 2023, the international team of researchers found.However the gains slowed in the 2010s, when measles vaccinations decreased in around half of the countries, with the largest drop in Latin America. Meanwhile in more than half of all high-income countries there were declines in coverage for at least one vaccine dose.Then the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Routine vaccination services were hugely disrupted during lockdowns and other measures, resulting in nearly 13 million extra children who never received any vaccine dose between 2020 to 2023, the study said.This disparity endured, particularly in poorer countries. In 2023, more than half of the world’s 15.7 million completely unvaccinated children lived in just eight countries, the majority in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the study.In the European Union, 10 times more measles cases were recorded last year compared to 2023.In the United States, a measles outbreak surged past 1,000 cases across 30 states last month, which is already more than were recorded in all of 2024.Cases of polio, long eradicated in many areas thanks to vaccination, have been rising in Pakistan and Afghanistan, while Papua New Guinea is currently enduring a polio outbreak.- ‘Tragedy’ -“Routine childhood vaccinations are among the most powerful and cost-effective public health interventions available,” said senior study author Jonathan Mosser of the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).”But persistent global inequalities, challenges from the Covid pandemic, and the growth of vaccine misinformation and hesitancy have all contributed to faltering immunisation progress,” he said in a statement. In addition, there are “rising numbers of displaced people and growing disparities due to armed conflict, political volatility, economic uncertainty, climate crises,” added lead study author Emily Haeuser, also from the IHME.The researchers warned the setbacks could threaten the WHO’s goal of having 90 percent of the world’s children and adolescents receive essential vaccines by 2030.The WHO also aims to halve the number of children who have received no vaccine doses by 2030 compared to 2019 levels.Just 18 countries have achieved this so far, according to the study, which was funded by the Gates Foundation and the Gavi vaccine alliance.The global health community has also been reeling since President Donald Trump’s administration drastically slashed US international aid earlier this year.”For the first time in decades, the number of kids dying around the world will likely go up this year instead of down because of massive cuts to foreign aid,” Bill Gates said in a separate statement on Tuesday.”That is a tragedy,” the Microsoft co-founder said, committing $1.6 billion to Gavi, which is holding a fund-raising summit in Brussels on Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a “historic victory” against Iran despite a US intelligence report concluding that American strikes set back Tehran’s nuclear program by just a few months.Iran and Israel agreed a ceasefire on Tuesday ending 12 days of tit-for-tat strikes, after US President Donald Trump joined the conflict with bunker-busting bombs at the weekend that he said destroyed key Iranian nuclear sites.A classified preliminary US intelligence report, however, concluded that American strikes on Iran set back its nuclear program by just a few months.Trump rebuffed that claim on Tuesday, posting on his Truth Social account that “THE NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYED!”White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had previously confirmed the authenticity of the assessment but said it was “flat-out wrong”.Netanyahu, in an address to the nation after the ceasefire, announced that “we have thwarted Iran’s nuclear project”.”And if anyone in Iran tries to rebuild it, we will act with the same determination, with the same intensity, to foil any attempt,” he said.Israel had said its bombing campaign, which began on June 13, was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, an ambition Tehran has consistently denied.Israel’s military said that its strikes had set back Iran’s nuclear programme “by years”.After Trump angrily berated both sides for early violations of the truce on Tuesday, Tehran announced it would respect the terms of the deal if Israel did the same, while Israel said it had refrained from further strikes.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country was willing to return to negotiations over its nuclear programme, but that his country would continue to “assert its legitimate rights” to the peaceful use of atomic energy.- Leaked intel -US media on Tuesday cited people familiar with the Defense Intelligence Agency findings as saying the American strikes did not fully eliminate Iran’s centrifuges or stockpile of enriched uranium.The strikes sealed off entrances to some facilities without destroying underground buildings, according to the report.White House Press Secretary Leavitt responded on social media: “The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program.”While Iran and Israel have been locked in a shadow war for decades, their 12-day conflict was by far the most destructive confrontation between them.Israeli strikes hit nuclear and military targets — killing scientists and senior military figures — as well as residential areas, prompting waves of Iranian missile fire on Israel.The war culminated in US strikes on underground Iranian nuclear sites using bunker-busting bombs — which Israel lacks — followed by an Iranian reprisal targeting the largest US military facility in the Middle East.Trump shrugged off that response as “weak”, thanking Tehran for giving advance notice and announcing the contours of the ceasefire just hours later. – ‘Everyone is tired’ -Some Israelis welcomed the prospect of a truce.”Everyone is tired. We just want to have some peace of mind,” said Tel Aviv resident Tammy Shel. “For us, for the Iranian people, for the Palestinians, for everyone in the region.”In Iran, people remained uncertain whether the peace would hold. Amir, 28, fled from Tehran to the Caspian Sea coast and told AFP by phone, “I really don’t know… about the ceasefire but honestly, I don’t think things will return to normal.”Israeli strikes on Iran killed at least 610 civilians and wounded more than 4,700, according to the health ministry.Iran’s attacks on Israel have killed 28 people, according to official figures and rescuers.The international community reacted with cautious optimism to the truce.Saudi Arabia and the European Union welcomed Trump’s announcement, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia hoped “that this will be a sustainable ceasefire”.But French President Emmanuel Macron warned there was an “increased” risk that Iran would attempt to enrich uranium secretly following the strikes on its nuclear sites.After the truce was announced, Israel’s military chief Eyal Zamir said Israel’s focus would now shift back to Gaza.The Israeli opposition, the Palestinian Authority and the main group representing the families of Israeli hostages all called for a Gaza truce to complement the Iran ceasefire. burs-dcp/mjw/ecl