tag

Dozens of commercial ships have dropped anchor at a distance outside Iran's port limits in recent days, according to data and shipping sources, ‌as tensions with the US grow.Such movements were ‌precautionary given the ‍tensions amid ongoing protests in Iran, the shipping sources said. Port limits are significant ⁠because they run a higher ⁠risk of collateral damage in the event of air strikes on ‍nearby infrastructure. The US is withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a US official said Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned its neighbours that it would hit American bases if Washington strikes Iran. The country relies on seaborne trade for imports using ‌dry bulkers, general cargo and container ships as well as oil tankers for oil exports. The number of tankers moving into Iran's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), ‍a stretch of water ⁠along its Gulf ‌and Caspian coasts that extends up to 24 miles and beyond local territorial limits of 12 nautical miles, jumped from 1 vessel to 36 tankers between January 6 and January 12, analysis by maritime intelligence solutions provider Pole Star Global shows. At least 25 bulk carriers were stationary in Iran's EEZ off the major port of Bandar Imam Khomeini, data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic showed. A further 25 ships including container and cargo ​vessels had dropped anchor further ‌south off the port of Bandar Abbas, MarineTraffic data showed.Israel launched air strikes in June ⁠2025 on targets ‍in Bandar Abbas, where at least 70 people were killed in unexplained blasts in April and authorities did not rule out sabotage. As Iran's leadership tries to put down the worst unrest the Islamic Republic has faced, Tehran is seeking to deter US President Donald Trump's ​repeated threats to intervene on behalf of anti-government protesters. The level of interference with GNSS navigation systems, which included GPS, had increased to "substantial" in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz area over the past week, the US Navy's Combined Maritime Force said in a note on Monday. "This is highly likely due to force protection measures being taken in relation to the ongoing political ⁠tensions in the region. Vessels transiting this area could be impacted," the note said. Atleast 3,428 killed 'in crackdown on protesters' Iranian security forces have killed at least 3,428 protesters in a crackdown on demonstrations, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) NGO said Wednesday, adding that more than 10,000 people had also been arrested, AFP reported from Paris. IHR said the jump in its verified toll was due to new information it received from within the Iranian health and education ministries, with at least 3,379 of the killings coming during the height of the protest movement from January 8 to 12. The group's director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam condemned the "mass killing of protesters on the streets in recent days", while IHR warned that even the new figure represented an "absolute minimum" for the actual toll. 

After running her stiff fingers along the keys, Ukrainian piano teacher Yevgenia retreated to her fort of mattresses and sheets to shelter from the cold reigning in her Kyiv flat.Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country would declare a "state of emergency" in its energy sector, battered by massive Russian strikes and buckling as temperatures dip as low as -20C.A Russian barrage of drones and missiles last week left half of the Ukrainian capital without heating, prompting mayor Vitali Klitschko to call on residents to temporarily leave the city if able to do so.Six days later, some 300 apartment buildings still lack heating and the capital is facing prolonged emergency rolling blackouts, imposed by the authorities to ration precious supplies.In Yevgenia's flat, the temperature was hovering at a chilly 12C.The heating in her building connected to city's electric grid gets cut off with every blackout, as backup batteries do not have the capacity to take over."We've been without power for 12 hours," she told AFP. "And that's not even the worst scenario."Every hour without power, the temperature in her living room dropped further."With each passing day, we're getting closer to zero."'To break people'Equipped with her flashlight and with her cat by her side, Yevgenia slipped into a pocket of warmth inside the apartment: a makeshift mattress castle.The temperature inside reached 24C."This idea came to me Thursday at midnight," said the 32-year-old, surprised at its effectiveness."I just wanted some kind of feeling, I don't know, of safety, of childhood."Russia has pummelled Ukraine's energy grid each winter since invading in February 2022, attacks Kyiv says are designed to hurt civilians."This is an attempt to break people," Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of Kyiv-based Energy Industry Research Study Center told AFP.He accused Russia of trying to drive major cities "into a man-made disaster, into an absolute crisis."Right now the situation is the most difficult of the entire war in terms of energy supply and heating in several major regions," he added.In Kyiv, the glow of car headlights and runners' headlamps dotted the otherwise frozen, blacked-out city streets after sunset.The sound of Russian attack drones mixed with the low hum of power generators.But residents dared not look up to check the threat from above, their gazes fixed on the path ahead to avoid slipping.People exercised by candlelight in gyms, got their hair cut by the light of headlamps, and scanned supermarket shelves using the light from their mobile phones.Without electricity in homes, fridges served as shelves and balconies as freezers.No 'disaster'The city has also set up large, heated tents where hot meals are distributed. But amid the crisis, politics has also been at play. Zelensky has blasted city officials for the response."Far too little has been done in the capital", he said in a video address on Wednesday.Mayor Klitschko, a political rival and former heavyweight boxing champion, has hit back.Such statements "diminish the selfless work of thousands of people," he said on Telegram, denouncing messages of "hate" directed at him.Zelensky has ordered an urgent increase in the volume of electricity imports to help put the lights back on.Yevgenia, meanwhile, was waiting for winter to end in her blanket fort, flanked by her phone, her power bank "and the kitty, of course.""The cat is priceless," she said. 

Kyiv residents huddled against bitter winter cold inside their unheated apartments Saturday as engineers struggled to restore power, water and heat knocked out in the latest salvo of Russian strikes.Russia has regularly conducted intense bombardments of Ukraine's energy system since it invaded its neighbour in 2022.The war's fourth winter could be the coldest and darkest yet, with the accumulated damage to the grid bringing utilities to the brink, and temperatures already below -10° Celsius (14°F) and set to plunge further this week.Saturday Kyiv's heat, power and water, hit hard by a strike two nights earlier, were shut down again as engineers tried to repair the ruined power grid.Galina Turchin, a 71-year-old pensioner living on Kyiv's badly affected eastern bank, had a window covered by plastic sheeting after it was blown out when drone debris hit another part of her building during the last overnight attack.She said she had not cooked food for two days, eating whatever had been left in their kitchen before the power, water and heat went out, and would now try to cook on a gas camping stove."We hope they will give us heat. If not power, then at least heat," she said, standing wrapped in layers of jumpers in her kitchen.The city administration said around noon local time (1000 GMT) Saturday that the state grid operator Ukrenergo had ordered the city's power system to be shut down, and that the water and heating systems, as well as electrified public transport, would also stop working as a result.Less than an hour later, Ukrenergo said engineers had managed to remedy the immediate issue, which had been caused by damage from previous Russian strikes, and that power was coming back online in parts of Kyiv.Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the heating system, which in Ukrainian cities is centralised and pumps hot water to homes in pipes, was also coming back on, and that she expected heat supply to be fully restored.However, she said that the power situation in the capital was still difficult, as the grid was badly damaged and people were using more electric heaters because of the cold.On Friday, with about half of Kyiv's apartment blocks left without heating after the latest Russian missile and drone attack, Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents who had a warm place to go to temporarily leave the city.Turchin, the pensioner in her cold apartment, said she had a village cottage in another region but it was unheated and would take three days to warm up with logs."The neighbour wrote. She said it was already -17° (Celsius) there last night." 

When her children, trembling with fear, ask where the family can go to escape Israel’s continued bombardment in southern Gaza’s Khan Yunis area, Umm Ahmed has no answer. In her small, devastated village near Khan Yunis city, recent Israeli drone and artillery strikes shattered the tenuous sense of peace delivered by a ceasefire that has largely held since October 10. Residents say the strikes have targeted neighbourhoods east of the so-called Yellow Line — a demarcation established under the truce between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli military says its troops are deployed in the area in accordance with the ceasefire framework. More than two years after Hamas’s October 2023 storming of Israel sparked a devastating war, tens of thousands of Gazans still live in tents or damaged homes in these areas, where the Israeli army maintains control and operates checkpoints. Now, many fear being forced from their homes, compelled to move west of the Yellow Line. “We don’t sleep at night because of fear. The bombardments in the east are relentless,” said Umm Ahmed, 40. “My children tremble at every explosion and ask me, ‘Where can we go?’ And I have no answer.” Her home in Bani Suheila has been completely destroyed, yet the family has stayed, pitching a tent beside the ruins. “Staying close to our destroyed home is easier than facing the unknown,” Umm Ahmed said. Crossing the Yellow Line to Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Yunis, is not an option for them. There, makeshift camps stretch as far as the eye can see, housing tens of thousands of Palestinians who fled the fighting. “There is no place left for anyone there, and not enough food or water,” Umm Ahmed said, as Gaza remains trapped in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. The Israeli military blames continued threats from Hamas fighters for its actions in the area. The war in Gaza began with Hamas’s storming of Israel in October 2023 . Since the war began, more than 70,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The vast majority of Gaza’s more than 2mn residents were displaced during the war, many multiple times. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since October 10, though both sides regularly accuse each other of violations. Under the truce, Israeli forces withdrew to positions east of the Yellow Line. Earlier this month, Israeli army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir described the Yellow Line as the “new border line” with Israel. “The Yellow Line is a new border line — serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity,” he said to reserve soldiers in Gaza. For Palestinian officials, the line is seen as a tool for permanent displacement. “The objective is to frighten residents, expel them from their areas, and force them west,” said Alaa al-Batta, mayor of Khan Yunis, denouncing the bombardments as “violations of the ceasefire agreement”. Mahmud Baraka, 45, from Khuzaa, east of Khan Yunis, described constant artillery fire and home demolitions in the area. “It feels like we are still living in a war zone,” he said. “Explosions happen as if they are right next to us. The objective of the occupation is clear: to intimidate us and drive us out, so the region is emptied.” For now, residents feel trapped between bombardment and displacement, uncertain how long they can endure. Despite the danger, Abdel Hamid, 70, refuses to leave his home located north of Khan Yunis, where he lives with his five children. “We will not leave... this is our land,” he said. “Moving would not be a solution, but yet another tragedy.” 

Afghanistan's Taliban government vowed Tuesday to "respond appropriately" to deadly overnight air strikes it blamed on Pakistan, a claim Islamabad denied, as tensions spiked a day after a suicide bombing in a Pakistani city.An air raid on Khost province "martyred" nine children and a woman, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X, blaming Pakistani forces and saying the target was "the house of a local civilian resident".Residents of the targeted area near the Pakistan frontier searched through the rubble of a collapsed house and prepared graves for victims, an AFP correspondent saw."Our request from the government of Pakistan is this: do not bomb ordinary people," said Sajidulrahman, a resident of the Jige Mughalgai area."Civilians have done nothing wrong."Mustaghfir Gurbuz, a spokesman for the governor of Khost, said the strikes were carried out by aircraft that included drones.The nearby border regions of Kunar and Paktika were also hit, wounding at least four people, government spokesman Mujahid said."The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns this violation and reiterates that defending its airspace, territory, and people is its legitimate right, and it will respond appropriately at the right time," Mujahid said in a separate statement.Pakistan denied carrying out any attack. According to state broadcaster PTV, military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said: "Pakistan has not attacked Afghanistan.""Whenever we conduct a strike, it is announced openly and properly," he said. "Pakistan never attacks civilian populations. The allegations of the interim Afghan government are baseless."The bombardment came after a suicide attack on Monday killed three officers and wounded 11 others at the headquarters of Pakistan's paramilitary Federal Constabulary force in Peshawar.No group has claimed responsibility, but state broadcaster PTV reported the attackers were Afghan nationals.President Asif Zardari blamed the "foreign-backed Fitna al-Khawarij" — Islamabad's term for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group it accuses of operating from Afghan soil.Another suicide blast this month killed 12 people outside a court in the Pakistani capital. It was claimed by a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, which shares the same ideology as the Afghan Taliban.Islamabad has said the militant cell behind the capital attack was "guided at every step by the... high command based in Afghanistan".Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told reporters Tuesday there was "clear-cut evidence" linking the Afghan Taliban to the Islamabad bombing.He aired an alleged video confession from one of four suspects in custody and said: "Afghanistan is fully involved... and their soil is also involved. The people being sheltered there are also involved."Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have been fraught since the Taliban swept back to power in Kabul in 2021, and worsened after border clashes in October killed around 70 people on both sides.That fighting ended with a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkiye, but several rounds of talks failed to produce a lasting deal.Security issues have proved a sticking point, especially Pakistan's demand that Kabul curb TTP fighters.Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering militants behind a surge in attacks, particularly the TTP, which has waged a bloody campaign against Pakistan for years.Kabul denies the charge and counters that Pakistan harbours groups hostile to Afghanistan and does not respect its sovereignty.The border between the neighbours has remained closed for more than six weeks since the October clashes, freezing bilateral trade.The Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry has warned that thousands of containers remain stuck at the border, each incurring $150-$200 in daily charges, calling the economic burden "unbearable".

Gaza's civil defence agency said 21 people were killed and dozens more wounded in multiple Israeli air strikes Saturday, as Hamas and Israel again traded allegations of violating the fragile ceasefire. Saturday was one of the deadliest days since the US-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas came into effect on October 10, after two years of war.Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defence agency which operates under Hamas authority, said there were "21 martyrs this evening in five separate Israeli air strikes, in a clear violation of the ceasefire in Gaza".They included seven killed and more than 16 injured in a strike on a house in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, and four killed and several injured in an air strike on a residential apartment in the Al-Nasr district, west of Gaza City, he said.The first reported strike targeted a vehicle in the Al-Rimal neighbourhood in western Gaza City. Five people were killed and several injured, said Bassal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office accused Hamas of breaching the truce agreement. "We again call on the mediators to insist that Hamas fulfil its side of the ceasefire." In a statement, Hamas said the "escalation" of Israeli violations were "attempts to undermine the ceasefire".

The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in several south Lebanon towns Wednesday, and accused the group of rebuilding its capabilities close to the border. The Israeli military has kept up frequent air strikes in Lebanon in spite of a ceasefire sealed last November that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah.The latest raids came a day after 13 people were killed in a strike that Israel said had targeted Hamas members in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon — the deadliest attack since the truce came into effect. Israel's military said Wednesday that it had struck "several weapons storage facilities belonging to Hezbollah's rocket unit in southern Lebanon", calling such sites "a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon". It had previously warned residents to evacuate the area around sites in the southern Lebanese towns of Deir Kifa, Shehur, Ainata and Tayr Felsay.Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) later said raids hit all four locations. In Deir Kifa, Lebanese soldiers deployed near the targeted building, which collapsed after the strike, an AFP correspondent saw. An AFP journalist in Tayr Felsay saw fireballs and smoke erupt after the raid there. In its evacuation warnings on X, the Israeli military had said it would strike Hezbollah "military infrastructure... in response to Hezbollah's prohibited attempts to rebuild its activities in the area".In a subsequent statement, the military singled out the town of Beit Lif, just a few kilometres from the Israeli border. It accused Hezbollah of rebuilding "dozens of fighter infrastructure sites in the area of the village, including headquarters and weapons storage facilities", some inside civilian homes.Lebanon says Israel is violating the truce with its strikes, and by maintaining troops in five areas of the country's south. Under heavy US pressure and fears of expanded Israeli attacks, Lebanon has committed to disarming Hezbollah, but the fighter group has rejected the idea of handing over its weapons.Earlier Wednesday, Lebanon's health ministry said one person was killed and 11 others wounded in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in south Lebanon's Tiri that Israel said killed a Hezbollah fighters. The NNA reported that the man killed worked for the local municipality, and said the strike took place as a university bus carrying students passed by, wounding some on board. On Tuesday, Israel said it struck a Hamas training compound in south Lebanon's Ain al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp. The Palestinian fighter group denied it had military installations in Lebanon's refugee camps and called Israel's claims "lies".

Greece signed a deal with Ukraine Sunday to supply US-origin liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the war-battered country whose energy infrastructure has been crippled by Russian strikes.The agreement came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Athens at the start of a European tour aimed at shoring up his country's defences and energy supply, as it enters another gruelling winter nearly four years into Russia's invasion.Exhausted and outnumbered Ukrainian troops are struggling to fend off Russian forces, and both sides have been attacking each other's energy infrastructure power stations and oil refineries as the war drags on with no sign of peace talks.Greece's national gas company DEPA Commercial and its Ukrainian counterpart Naftogaz announced the deal, which will run from December 2025 until March 2026, following a meeting between Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.The agreement "marks an essential step in strengthening regional energy cooperation and European energy security", according to a joint statement.The deal, signed at a ceremony attended by US ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, will make it possible to "support Ukraine in the midst of a difficult winter", Mitsotakis and Zelensky said.Guilfoyle visited Zelensky at the Ukrainian embassy in Athens Sunday, the state-run ERTNEWS tv channel reported."Relations between our countries are taking on a crucial new dimension: that of a new secure energy artery, stretching from south to north, from Greece to Ukraine," Mitsotakis said.He called the deal a "decisive step toward definitive energy independence from Russian gas" — a key goal for Europe, which has struggled to wean itself off imports.Most European Union countries recently approved a ban on imports of Russian natural gas by the end of 2027, a decision aimed at hitting Russia's funding for the war.Mitsotakis also pledged Greek support for Ukraine's postwar reconstruction and to deepening defence cooperation, according to a joint declaration.They plan on "enhancing security in the maritime domain, including cooperation on the development and deployment of maritime (sea) UAVs, joint exercises and training related to unmanned maritime systems, and enhanced information-sharing on maritime threats."The Ukrainian president expressed gratitude to US President Donald Trump "for the fact that we will be able to receive natural gas not only from Greece, but also (US gas) via Greece".Zelensky, who is to visit France and Spain on his tour, called the agreement a "significant part of the comprehensive energy package we have prepared for this winter".The approaching winter poses "a huge challenge... for the Ukrainian people", he said."Practically every night now, the Russians are striking our infrastructure, especially our energy infrastructure," he said."Most of Ukraine's power plants, our gas production facilities and our thermal power plants have become targets."Zelensky's first visit to Greece since 2023 follows the recent announcement of major energy projects in Greece, supported by the United States.Greek authorities plan to cooperate with US companies to increase the flow of American liquefied natural gas to Greek terminals.Greece is "the natural gateway for American liquefied natural gas to replace Russian gas in the region," Mitsotakis said at a conference this month in Athens hosted by the United States.The recent launch of a Trans-Adriatic pipeline connecting Greece and Bulgaria has enabled the country to contribute to a "vertical" corridor delivering gas towards Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia.The opening of storage infrastructure at the port of Alexandroupolis, near the Greek-Turkish border and where American LNG arrives, has also helped undermine Russia's market in the region.

Russia's Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces had killed 1,165 Ukrainian soldiers and shot down 116 drones. In a statement, the ministry reported strikes on Ukrainian positions across 147 locations along the front lines, claiming damage to armored vehicles, artillery systems, ammunition depots, and electronic warfare stations.It also said Russian forces targeted energy infrastructure and railway cars used to transport Ukrainian troops to the Donbas region, as well as facilities involved in the production and launch of long-range drones and storage sites for unmanned boats.Since the start of the war on Feb. 24, 2022, both Russia and Ukraine have issued near-daily battlefield updates, often asserting gains or repelling attacks. These claims are difficult to independently verify due to the ongoing conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he discussed his country's air defence needs with his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb after recent Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Zelenskiy, who is due to meet Donald Trump in Washington on Friday, also said it was important that the U.S. president had managed to stop the war in Gaza. "Of course, the right steps by America could also work to end Russia's war against Ukraine. We have a vision for this," Zelenskiy said, adding that he and Stubb were "coordinating" their positions.

Two Palestinians were martyred, and three others were injured Thursday in an Israeli drone strike on Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Palestinian news agency (WAFA), citing medical sources, reported that a man and his wife were martyred, and three others were injured in the Israeli shelling of Al-Bureij refugee camp. Since Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation has committed genocidal crimes in the Gaza Strip, leaving 66,148 martyrs and around 168,716 wounded, most of whom are children and women. Meanwhile, famine has claimed the lives of 455 Palestinians, including 151 children.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, aiming to break the Israeli siege on Gaza, announced Sunday that it is now approximately 825 kilometers from the Gaza Strip. The flotilla, comprising over 50 boats carrying more than 500 activists from around 45 countries — including 54 French and 15 Belgian participants, along with prominent activists and medical personnel such as Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, has faced drone attacks believed to be carried out by Israel. The strikes caused explosions and communication disruptions but resulted in no casualties. A short video posted on the flotilla's account by an activist aboard the Alma boat showed two drones flying at low altitude over the vessels overnight without carrying out any attacks. Activists reaffirmed that they are continuing toward Gaza despite Israeli threats. The flotilla includes the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the Global Gaza Movement, the Sumud Convoy, and Malaysia's Sumud Nusantara. European governments have stepped in to provide protection: Italy and Spain announced the deployment of naval vessels to escort the flotilla. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto condemned the drone attacks and confirmed a second naval ship would assist the flotilla, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a naval vessel would accompany the ships to anticipate potential attacks. The convoy first departed from Barcelona in late August, carrying humanitarian aid including medical supplies, followed by additional boats from Genoa, Italy, in early September, and vessels from Morocco and Tunisia. This marks the first time that dozens of ships have sailed together in a collective effort to break the Israeli siege on Gaza, after previous flotillas were intercepted and their activists deported by Israeli forces.