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ISRAELI military says it launched a wave of strikes against Iranian military and nuclear sites in a major escalation against Tehran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned Israel that it “must expect severe punishment” following the “crime” of attacking Iran and killing several commanders and top scientists. In a prerecorded video message posted early Friday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were aimed at hurting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and ballistic missile factories. “This operation will take as long as is needed to complete the task of fending off the threat of annihilation against us,” Netanyahu…

MATHEUS Cunha said he had “dreamed of wearing the red shirt” of Manchester United after the club confirmed his signing from Wolves on Thursday. United effectively sealed the deal, which was subject to the completion of a visa and medical, on June 1 after activating a £62.5 million ($85 million) release clause in the 26-year old’s contract. “It is hard to put into words my feelings about becoming a Manchester United player,” said the Brazil international, who has signed a five-year deal with the option of another year. “Ever since I was a child in Brazil watching Premier League games…

ISRAELI attacks have killed at least 52 people across Gaza since dawn, medical sources told Al Jazeera, as the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution urging an unconditional ceasefire in the besieged enclave. Sources told Al Jazeera that at least 26 of the people killed on Thursday died in Israeli drone attacks while waiting for food and basic supplies being distributed by the controversial United States and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Gaza civil defence official Mohammed el-Mougher told AFP news agency that al-Awda Hospital received at least 10 bodies and about 200 others who were wounded “after Israeli…

VIDHI Chaudhary, a senior police officer, said the survivor had been in seat 11A. There could be more survivors among the people in hospital, she added. There are more than 50 injured in hospitals. The survivor, named as 40-year-old Ramesh Viswashkumar, has spoken to Indian media. “Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,” he told the Hindustan Times, which showed a boarding pass for seat 11A in that name online. “It all happened so quickly,” he told the paper from his hospital bed. “When I got up, there were bodies all around me.…

THE ruling party in Burundi has won all 100 seats in a parliamentary election that the opposition says has “killed” democracy in the central African state. Giving the provisional results for last week’s poll, electoral commission head Prosper Ntahorwamiye said the CNDD-FDD party secured more than 96% of votes in all provinces. The election had seen only “some minor irregularities”, he added. The opposition Uprona party came second with a little over 1% of the vote. The party denounced the election as rigged, with its leader Olivier Nkurunziza telling the AFP news agency: “We have killed democracy.” The main opposition…

ZAMBIA’s former President Edgar Lungu, who died last week, left instructions that his successor Hakainde Hichilema “should not be anywhere near” his body, a family spokesman has said. This is the latest development in the bitter feud over funeral plans for the late president following his death in South Africa at the age of 68. The government had planned to fly his body back home on Wednesday, but failed to do so because of a dispute with Lungu’s family and his political party, the Patriotic Front (PF), over mourning and funeral arrangements. The two leaders were long-standing political rivals, with…

IN what is now confirmed as the world’s deadliest aviation disaster in over a decade, all 242 people on board an Air India flight bound for the United Kingdom, have died after the aircraft crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on Thursday. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which departed Ahmedabad Airport at 1:39pm local time, crashed into a residential area, slamming into the doctors’ hostel of the B.J. Medical College during the lunch hour. Authorities said the aircraft gave a “Mayday” call before all communication ceased. According to city police chief G.S. Malik, 204 bodies had been recovered by late afternoon.…

THE Club World Cup is back this weekend – and this year’s event will be larger than ever, with a host of the biggest names in football set to feature. Thirty-two teams from around the globe will take part in the tournament across 11 cities in the United States, with the month-long action beginning at 01:00 BST on Sunday and ending on 13 July. You do not have to wait long until the superstars appear, with teams having finalised their squads for the big kick-off. Inter Miami, fortunate to be included as they won the Major League Soccer Supporters’ Shield…

ISRAELI forces have killed more than 120 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, medical sources have told Al Jazeera, including dozens of hungry aid seekers, as Israel continues to relentlessly bombard the besieged territory, with the overall war death toll now surpassing a staggering 55,000 people. Gaza’s Health Ministry said 57 people trying to access aid were killed and more than 363 injured by Israel since Wednesday morning. The distribution points are operated by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed drive in tightly Israeli-controlled zones. Israel’s Foreign Ministry has described the GHF…

PROTESTS against Donald Trump’s harsh immigration policies spread Wednesday across the United States despite a military-backed crackdown in Los Angeles and threats by the hard-right Republican president to use “heavy force.” In Los Angeles, where the unrest began last Friday, an overnight curfew intended to keep people out of the downtown area was largely effective, with police arresting around 25 people who had refused to leave. Officers patrolled near government buildings, and storekeepers boarded up windows to protect against vandalism. But the area was quiet Wednesday. “I would say for the most part everything is hunky dory right here at…

KENYAN President William Ruto on Wednesday condemned the death of a man in police custody that has sparked widespread anger as the country prepares to mark a year since massive protests calling for change. Albert Ojwang, 31, was arrested in western Kenya over posts on social media accusing police deputy inspector-general Eliud Kipkoech Lagat of corruption. He was transferred to the central police station in the capital Nairobi where he died over the weekend, with police initially saying he had hit his own head against the wall of his cell. Kenyan police officers guard the entrance to Central Police Station…

ARRANGING a funeral can be testing at the best of times – let alone for a former head of state. Amid that intense, initial stage of grief, loved ones must juggle cost, the wishes of the deceased and numerous other factors in order to throw a fitting send-off. Add the clashing desires of a national government and its political opponents into the mix, and things become doubly complicated. Edgar Lungu, who led Zambia from 2015 to 2021, died last Thursday. His death at the age of 68 has shocked Zambians – and there is genuine sense of grief with all…

AHEAD of the June 12 Democracy Day, the #TakeItBackMovement has insisted on the nationwide protest scheduled for Thursday. The organisers yesterday released a list of designated locations where demonstrators are expected to gather. June 12 was adopted in 2018 by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s Democracy Day in honour of the winner of the June 12, 1993, election, Moshood Abiola. This year’s commemoration marks 26-year uninterrupted democratic rule in the country. The organisers said the protest is against hardship, insecurity and a “shrinking civic space” under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The movement’s national…

MANCHESTER United have reportedly reignited their pursuit of Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen following the Napoli star’s decision to reject a mega-money move to Saudi Arabia. Osimhen, 26, turned down a staggering €40 million per year offer from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal, despite the club agreeing to a €75 million transfer fee with Napoli. Al-Hilal had initially offered €30 million annually before raising the proposal to €40 million in a final attempt to secure his signature. The Super Eagles striker’s rejection of the Saudi deal has now reopened the door for European clubs, with Manchester United among those closely monitoring…

MANCHESTER City manager Pep Guardiola says the images of children being killed during Israel’s war on Gaza are “painful” and have left him “deeply troubled”. The Spanish manager of the English Premier League club urged the world to speak up instead of choosing to stay silent “in the face of injustice” as he addressed an audience after receiving an honorary degree at the University of Manchester on Monday. “It’s so painful what we see in Gaza. It hurts all my body,” Guardiola said. “Maybe we think that when we see four-year-old boys and girls being killed by bombs or being…

THE United States and China began a second day of trade talks on Tuesday, seeking to shore up a shaky tariff truce in a bitter row deepened by export curbs. The gathering of key officials from the world’s two biggest economies began Monday in London, after an earlier round of talks in Geneva last month. Stock markets wavered as investors hoped the talks will bring some much-needed calm on trading floors and ease tensions between the economic superpowers. A US Treasury spokesman told AFP on Tuesday the “talks resumed earlier this” morning. One of US President Donald Trump’s top advisers…

A MINIBUS carrying schoolchildren has been swept away by heavy flooding in South Africa, a spokesperson for the Eastern Cape provincial government has told the BBC. Khuselwa Rantjie said it was unclear how many children were on the bus, but three had so far been found alive. Rescue efforts had been suspended as night had fallen and would resume on Wednesday, she added. In a separate incident, the bodies of seven people carried away by flood water have been found in the province’s OR Tambo district. South Africa has been hit by heavy snow, rains and gale force winds that…

A KENYAN blogger who died in police custody was hit on the head and his death was likely to have been caused by assault, a post-mortem has revealed. This contradicts police claims that Albert Ojwang “sustained head injuries after hitting his head against a cell wall”. His death has sparked widespread outrage in Kenya, with rights groups demanding that police be held accountable. Mr Ojwang, 31, was detained following a complaint by the deputy police chief, who accused him of tarnishing his name on social media. “The cause of death is very clear; head injury, neck compression and other injuries…

SPAIN boss Luis de la Fuente has explained why he took Lamine Yamal off in extra-time after La Roja lost the Nations League final on penalties to Portugal. Yamal was replaced by Yeremy Pino and didn’t look to thrilled at his manager’s decision to take him off. De la Fuente was quizzed afterwards about his decision and says Yamal was tired and his team needed more energy. “We wanted to give the game a bit more energy,” he explained. “The introduction of Yeremy Pino and Alex Baena gave us that energy, that control of the game that we had lost,…

GAZA’s healthcare system is “extremely fragile” amid the ongoing Israeli war, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned. The organisation said in a statement on Sunday that the enclave’s hospitals are in urgent need of protection and reinforcement amid Israel’s continued bombardment and blockade. It added that the system is facing growing pressure due to increasing casualty rates from Israeli attacks at aid points. “In the last two weeks, the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah has had to activate its mass casualty incident procedure 12 times, receiving high numbers of patients with gunshot and shrapnel wounds,”…