Author: AFP
The Huthi rebels’ health ministry said early Monday that new US air strikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa killed at least 12 people and wounded 30. The Huthi-run Saba news agency cited the ministry as saying the dead and injured had come from overnight strikes “by the American enemy” on a market and a residential zone in Sanaa’s Farwa district. Other raids were reported late Sunday in the central province of Marib, Hodeida in the west and the Huthi bastion of Saada in the north, Saba said. The US military has been carrying out almost daily attacks for the past…
Israel’s government cancelled visas for 27 French left-wing lawmakers and local officials two days before they were to start a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Sunday, the group said. The action came only days after Israel stopped two British members of parliament from the governing Labour party from entering the country. It also came amidst diplomatic tensions after President Emmanuel Macron said France would soon recognise a Palestinian state. Macron has in turn sought to pressure Netanyahu over conditions in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war. Israel’s interior ministry said visas for the 27 had been cancelled under…
Saudi Arabia’s rulers sent their condolences after Pope Francis died on Monday, the latest in a flood of messages from leaders across the world after the Catholic leader’s passing. “King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister sent cables of condolences on the death of Pope Francis, head of the Vatican State,” read a statement from the official Saudi Press Agency.
The Huthi rebels’ health ministry said early Monday that new US air strikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa killed at least 12 people and wounded 30. The Huthi-run Saba news agency cited the ministry as saying the dead and injured had come from overnight strikes “by the American enemy” on a market and a residential zone in Sanaa’s Farwa district. Other raids were reported late Sunday in the central province of Marib, Hodeida in the west and the Huthi bastion of Saada in the north, Saba said. The US military has been carrying out almost daily attacks for the past…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that Russia needed to give a “clear answer” about whether it would accept a ceasefire on striking civilian targets, a proposal that Moscow said it would “analyse”. “Ukraine maintains its proposal not to strike at least civilian infrastructure. And we expect a clear answer from Moscow. We are ready for any conversation on how to ensure this,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
Palestinian Christians in Gaza on Monday mourned the death of Pope Francis, who had maintained close and consistent video contact with the territory’s small Christian community throughout the ongoing war. Since the outbreak of fighting between Israel and Hamas, Francis had regularly called Gaza’s Christians, often several times a week, offering prayers, encouragement and solidarity. Below are reflections shared with AFP by members of Gaza’s Christian community from Gaza City following the death of the pontiff, who had condemned the “cruelty” of Israeli strikes: – Elias al-Sayegh from Zeitun — “I always waited to hear the words of the Holy…
The United States slashing foreign aid risks piling pressure on already acute humanitarian crises across the globe, a World Health Organization official said Sunday, also warning against withdrawing from the UN agency. Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has effectively frozen foreign aid funding, moved to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and other programmes, and announced plans to leave the WHO. Washington, which had long been the WHO’s biggest donor, did not pay its 2024 dues, and it remains unclear if the United States will meet its membership obligations for 2025 The agency, already facing…
At least 11 people, including three children, were killed in New Delhi Saturday after a residential building collapsed on the outskirts of the Indian capital, local reports and authorities said. The incident happened in the early hours in the northeastern district of the city that mostly houses migrant workers, with rescue teams digging through the rubble throughout the day. Eleven people were pronounced dead, NDTV channel reported, though 11 others were rescued and taken to hospital. Five were still undergoing treatment, the network said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “saddened by the loss of lives”. “Condolences to…
Russia said Sunday that its forces had retaliated after Ukraine attempted attacks overnight despite an Easter truce announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The defence ministry said in a briefing that “despite the announcement of the Easter truce, Ukrainian units at night made attempts to attack Russian positions in the areas of Sukhaya Balka and Bogatyr in the Donetsk People’s Republic, which were repelled.” The ministry was referring to the villages of Sukha Balka and Bagatyr in the Russian-held part of the eastern Donetsk region. Moscow said Ukraine also attacked the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod border regions of Russia, saying…
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday accused Russia of carrying out more than 2,000 violations of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Easter truce, but suggested extending a pause on aerial strikes after a day of no air raid alerts across Ukraine. “The Russian army has violated Putin’s ceasefire more than 2,000 times,” Zelensky said on social media. But he added that there had been “no air raid alerts today” and proposed “to cease any strikes using long-range drones and missiles on civilian infrastructure for a period of at least 30 days.”