Iran says any nuclear deal must respect 'right' to enrich uranium
'I would like to emphasise that in any negotiated solution, the rights of the Iranian people on the nuclear issue, including the right to enrichment, must be respected,' Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told diplomats in Tehran. 'We will not have any agreement in which enrichment is not included.' - AFP
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New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Israeli airstrikes kill 43 in Gaza amid ceasefire deadlock
GAZA CITY: Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed more than 40 Palestinians, including children at a water distribution point, as talks for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas stalled. Delegations from Israel and the Palestinian group have now spent a week trying to agree on a temporary truce to halt 21 months of devastating fighting in the Gaza Strip. On the ground, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said eight children were among the 10 victims of a drone strike at a water point. Israel's military blamed it on a "technical error" when targeting a fighter in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, adding "the munition fell dozens of meters from the target." Washington is Israel's top ally and Donald Trump has been pushing for a ceasefire, with the US president saying Sunday he was hopeful of a deal. But there was no immediate sign an end to the fighting was near. Strikes across the Palestinian territory on Sunday killed at least 43 people, including 11 at a Gaza City market, Bassal said. In Nuseirat, resident Khaled Rayyan told AFP he was woken by the sound of two large explosions. "Our neighbour and his children were under the rubble" of a house hit, he said. Another resident, Mahmud al-Shami, called on the negotiators to secure a ceasefire deal. "What happened to us has never happened in the entire history of humanity," he said. "Enough." The Israeli military, which has recently intensified operations across Gaza, said that in the past 24 hours the air force "struck more than 150 targets." It released aerial footage of what it said were fighter jet strikes attacking Hamas targets around Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, showing explosions on the ground and thick smoke in the sky. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties. The war was sparked by Hamas' Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which led to 1,219 deaths, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Of the 251 people taken hostage by fighters that day, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry says that at least 58,026 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel's retaliatory campaign. The United Nations considers those figures reliable. UN agencies on Saturday warned that fuel shortages had reached "critical levels", threatening to worsen conditions for Gaza's more than two million people. "Only 150,000 litres of fuel have been allowed in over the past few days – an amount that covers less than one day's needs," the head of the Palestinian NGOs Network in Gaza, Amjad Shawa, told AFP on Sunday. "We require 275,000 litres of fuel per day to meet basic needs." Talks in the Qatari capital Doha to seal a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release were in the balance on Saturday after Israel and Hamas accused each other of trying to block a deal. Despite the deadlock, Trump said "hopefully we're going to get that straightened out over the next week", speaking to reporters Sunday as he echoed similarly optimistic comments he made July 4. Hamas wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, but a Palestinian source with knowledge of the talks said Israel had presented plans to maintain troops in more than 40 per cent of the territory. The source said Israel wanted to force hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into the south of Gaza "in preparation for forcibly displacing them to Egypt or other countries." A senior Israeli official said Israel had demonstrated an openness "to flexibility in the negotiations, while Hamas remains intransigent, clinging to positions that prevent the mediators from advancing an agreement." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is prepared to enter talks for a more lasting end to hostilities once a temporary truce is agreed, but only if Hamas disarms. Netanyahu on Sunday evening faced renewed pressure to secure the release of all hostages when protesters beamed images of captives onto buildings near his Jerusalem office. "The absolute majority want a deal even (at the cost of) ending the fighting," Yotam Cohen, whose brother Nimrod is still being held, told AFP.--AFP
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
France's beloved 'petanque' game finds an unlikely outpost
Petanque, or boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals are often to be found in sand pits throwing metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink. But for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. — Photos: Marco Simoncelli/ AFP In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules,is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink. But for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa to the French colony of Djibouti. With around 150 members, it still bears the name Le Club des Cheminots (The Railway Club), though the line stopped operating in 2008. Club members play a match of petanque at the Club des Cheminots. But a new threat has emerged from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's vast demolition and construction programme in the city. "We're worried because we've been told the area will be demolished and the whole neighbourhood will be relocated," said Daniel Bewektu, 38, who has played daily for nearly seven years. "I don't think anyone will preserve the place," he added. The players gather daily under the club's corrugated metal roof, playing in sand imported from Dire Dawa, a city about 350 kilometres (220 miles) east of the capital. On a recent Saturday, speakers blared local music while men sat around plastic tables, reading, playing dominoes and drinking beer. On the courts, familiar scenes played out: minor arguments over disputed points, the sound of metal balls clinking and shouts of "gobez" ("well played" in Amharic). A club member measures the distance between a boule and the jack with a tape measure during a petanque match at the Club des Cheminots. Nowhere to go Assefaw Geremew retrieved his boules from an old locker, an almost daily ritual for the 68-year-old, a retired railway worker like many of his fellow members. "I started playing petanque when the French were in charge. When they completed the railway work and left Ethiopia, we Ethiopians took over and continued the game," he said. He has witnessed many changes in the neighbourhood, including the demolition of the nearby Buffet de la Gare, a famous hotel and restaurant dating back to 1924 that was replaced by an apartment block in 2019. "If this place didn't exist, the workers and retired people wouldn't have anywhere to go," Geremew said. "Here, you can stay as long as you want. You meet your old friends, and you meet new people," he added, highlighting the extremely modest membership fee of just 6 birrs (five US cents) per month for retirees. Club president Alemneh Abebe hopes the authorities will come to their rescue. "If possible, with government support, we'd like to be given another space," he said. But Bewektu is worried: "If this place is taken away, petanque will disappear." – AFP
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Hundreds cross into Thailand
More than 500 civilians and soldiers fled conflict in Myanmar and crossed into Thailand after an assault by ethnic fighters on a military base, the Thai army said. Myanmar has been mired in civil conflict since a military coup in 2021, with the junta battling a coalition of ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy resistance forces. Saturday's attack by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) targeted a military base in Kayin state at around 3pm local time, Thailand's military said in a statement. 'The Myanmar soldiers attempted to resist and called for supporting firepower to defend their position but were ultimately unable to hold the line,' it said. Thai military and police disarmed one hundred Myanmar soldiers and 467 civilians who crossed over. They also provided treatment and humanitarian aid, officials said. Thai forces have ramped up patrols along the border in western Tak province to prevent what officials described as a potential 'violation of sovereignty by foreign armed forces'. Saw Thamain Tun, a leader of KNLA's political wing, confirmed there had been fighting near the border and said that joint forces had 'seized some front posts' from the army. — AFP
