What happened to Air India flight 171?
In reference to the report Huge explosions heard as major Iranian rocket attack hits Israel (June 19): The new war between Israel and Iran is most unfortunate. It will destabilise the entire Middle East. The world is already besieged by wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan. All wars are horrible. Innocent people die. Economies come to a standstill. Lives are disrupted. Jobs disappear. Common people pay the price of wars, initiated by their leaders.
Iran may not cease its nuclear programme by threats and bombings. The isolation of Iran is likely to be counter-productive.
Too many nations have lethal weapons that can destroy our planet. We have to be very circumspect in resolving issues. War is just not an option any more to resolve matters.
So can Iran and Israel just talk to each other, instead of fighting? This is the appeal of a common man.
Rajendra Aneja, Mumbai, India
What explains the Air India tragedy?
With regard to the report Funerals begin for 279 killed in Air India crash (June 15):Last week's crash of Air India flight 171 was utterly heartbreaking. This is undoubtedly one of the worst aviation disasters in recent times.
The aircraft, which was relatively young – less than 12 years old – and considered to be one of the reliable models in service, now comes under scrutiny. It is premature however to place blame without the full facts. The investigation must be conducted thoroughly to uncover the real causes behind this tragedy and to put an end to all the speculation of what could have gone wrong.
Let us hope that the investigation brings clarity, justice, and measures to prevent such mishaps in the future.
K Ragavan, Bengaluru, India
Crucial to heed fire alarms
With regard to John Dennehy and Greg Tanner's report Dubai Marina fire: Community steps up to help those forced to flee (June 15): I hope everyone was safe and residents of the tower didn't lose too many important belongings. As an aside to the fire in this particular apartment, I wonder if perhaps some people no longer react to fire alarms with the urgency they call for, since in many towers they go off every other week as a part of a fire drill. Besides the problem of fire alarms sometimes not going off, people can't really know for sure if it's a real emergency or not unless they step out of their apartments to check.
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The National
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Palestine church attacks tear at Israel's relations with Christians
Just back from Gaza, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa's voice faltered as he recounted the horror of seeing a mutilated child in the Al Ahli Baptist Hospital. It was one thing to see the pictures, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem said on his return to the city. 'It's different to see the child with the father there, the only remaining family, with his only remaining child out of six. It is difficult to bear. He lost his sight, everything.' Cardinal Pizzaballa was in Gaza after Israeli fire killed three Christians last week in the only Catholic church in the strip. The cardinal reiterated his position that he is not sure he believes the Israeli army's assessment that the strike was a mistake. Pope Leo XIV also condemned the attack. The Patriarch stressed his solidarity with all in the strip and condemned the 'morally unacceptable' war, in particular the growing hunger that he saw on his brief visit. 'It is time to end this nonsense, end the war and put the common good of people as the top priority,' he said. Cardinal Pizzaballa, who was tipped as a papal candidate at the last conclave and is one of the most influential faith leaders in Jerusalem, was not the only senior church leader to raise serious concerns about Christians in the Holy Land this week. On Saturday, US Ambassador and evangelical Christian Zionist Mike Huckabee slammed an arson attack by Israeli settlers on a church in the occupied West Bank village of Taybeh as an 'act of terror'. 'What has happened here is an absolute travesty and it's my desire to do everything possible to let the people of this peaceful village know that we will certainly insist that those who carry out acts of terror and violence in Taybeh – or anywhere – be found and be prosecuted,' Mr Huckabee said. His comments came amid rising Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, which has seen daily incidents of vandalism, land and property theft, assaults and even killings, including of US-Palestinians. Mr Huckabee's angry words were a remarkable condemnation from someone who The Jerusalem Post last year described as the second most important Christian Zionist around. Today, Mr Huckabee has the ear of the most powerful man on the planet, US President Donald Trump Millions of Christian Zionists live in the US and vote for Mr Trump. Their pro-Israel stance is a critical foundation of the US's seemingly open-ended support of the country. They raise vast sums of money for Zionist causes and send over streams of Christians on solidarity visits, often to provide labour on Israeli farms and vineyards. The US also just got its first pope, Leo XIV, now the spiritual leader of 1.4 billion people. The pontiff's most senior representative in the Holy Land, Cardinal Pizzaballa, has lived in Jerusalem for more than three decades and speaks fluent Hebrew. Israel has acknowledged some of these recent incidents. On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's office released a statement, not explicitly in his name, that said: 'Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church.' No such statement was issued in Hebrew for the domestic press. The statement came shortly after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Mr Trump had phoned Mr Netanyahu about the strike and that 'it was not a positive reaction'. The church attack in Taybeh garnered a very different response from authorities and people close to Mr Netanyahu. Two days after Mr Huckabee demanded action, Israel's police said 'reports' of such an attack were 'factually incorrect, lack any evidentiary basis, and risk misleading the public'. This came after diplomats from more than 20 countries, senior church leaders and dozens of journalists made an official visit to witness the site, during which video evidence and testimony from several sources were presented. Caroline Glick, Mr Netanyahu's international affairs adviser, went further. In a post on X, quoting a report from a sanctioned settler who she described as a journalist, Ms Glick wrote that the story was 'a despicable and false blood libel' and blamed the fire on local Christians who she accused of setting fire to their own lands to stop 'Jewish grazing' from a nearby settlement. The flare up came just hours after Mr Huckabee announced the resolution of a bitter controversy over evangelicals not being given Israeli visas. On Wednesday, Mr Huckabee sent an angry letter to Israel's interior minister, which was subsequently leaked, that accused Israel's visa authorities of 'arbitrarily' complicating the process. 'It would be very unfortunate that our Embassy would have to publicly announce throughout the US that the State of Israel is no longer welcoming Christian organisations and their representatives and is instead engaging in harassment and negative treatment towards organisations with long-standing relationships and positive involvement towards Zionism and friendship to the Jewish people and the State of Israel,' Mr Huckabee said. 'We would further be obligated to warn Christians in America that their generous contributions to organisations to promote goodwill in Israel are being met with hostility and that tourists should reconsider travel until this situation is resolved with clarity,' he added. Mr Huckabee said in a post on X on Monday that the issue had been resolved after a meeting with the minister of interior enabled by Mr Netanyahu.
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'Hunger has shaken my resolve': AFP journalists document Gaza war amid food shortage
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Witnesses and Gaza's civil defence agency, however, have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of firing on aid seekers, with the UN saying the military had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food since late May. 'We have no energy' Bashar Taleb, 35, is one of four AFP photographers in Gaza who were shortlisted for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize earlier this year. He lives in the bombed-out ruins of his home in Jabalia al-Nazla, in northern Gaza. "I've had to stop working multiple times just to search for food for my family and loved ones," he said. "I feel for the first time utterly defeated emotionally. "I've tried so much, knocked on many doors to save my family from starvation, constant displacement and persistent fear but so far to no avail." Another Pulitzer nominee, Omar al-Qattaa, 35, is staying in the remains of his wife's family's home after his own apartment was destroyed. 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Working non-stop for 14 months Eyad Baba, another photojournalist, was displaced from his home in Rafah, in the south, to a tent in Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, where the Israeli military this week began ground operations for the first time. But he could not bear life in the sprawling camp, so he instead rented an apartment at an inflated price to try to at least provide his family some comfort. Baba, 47, has worked non-stop for 14 months, away from his family and friends, documenting the bloody aftermath of bullets and bombs, and the grief that comes with it. Hardest to deal with, though, is the lack of food, he said. "I can no longer bear the hunger. Hunger has reached my children and has shaken my resolve," he added. "We've psychologically endured every kind of death during our press coverage. Fear and the sense of looming death accompany us wherever we work or live." Working as a journalist in Gaza is to work "under the barrel of a gun", he explained, but added, "The pain of hunger is sharper than the fear of bombing. Hunger robs you of focus, of the ability to think amid the horrors of war." 'Living the catastrophe' The director of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, warned on Tuesday that Gaza was heading towards "alarming numbers of deaths" due to lack of food, revealing that 21 children had died from malnutrition and starvation in the last three days. AFP text journalist Ahlam Afana, 30, said an exhausting "cash crisis" — from exorbitant bank charges and sky-high prices for what food is available — was adding to the issue. Cash withdrawals carry fees of up to 45 percent, said Zanoun, with high prices for fuel — where it is available — making getting around by car impossible, even if the streets were not blocked by rubble. "Prices are outrageous," said Afana. 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Trump withdraws from UNESCO because it recognises Palestine
The Trump administration on Tuesday announced it will be withdrawing from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) because the agency admitted Palestine as a member. "UNESCO's decision to admit the 'State of Palestine' as a Member State is highly problematic, contrary to US policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization," the State Department said. "Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States". The withdrawal, per the rules, will not take effect until 31 December, 2026. US President Donald Trump withdrew from UNESCO during his first term for the very same reason, before his successor Joe Biden rejoined the agency. And under former president Barack Obama, US funding to UNESCO was suspended when it first recognised Palestine as a member in 2011.
