Saturday, June 21, 2025

True Promise III: No Respite as Iran Unleashes Shahed-136 Drones on Tel Aviv, Haifa

Saturday, 21 June 2025 1:23 AM

A building up in flames after being struck by an Iranian missile in central occupied Palestine early on Saturday, June 21, 2025.

In a new phase of Operation True Promise III in the wee hours of Saturday morning, Iranian armed forces fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at the occupied territories.

The eighteenth wave of the historic retaliatory operation started at around 3:10 am local time in Iran, with some videos circulating online showing the night sky over the occupied territories lit up by the Iranian long-range missiles.

Air raid sirens were activated as soon as the missiles arrived, forcing settlers to head back to underground bunkers, where they have been spending most of their time these days.

Israeli media reported massive explosions in the heart of Tel Aviv, indicating that the missiles yet again managed to evade three-tier air defense systems to hit their intended targets.

One of the videos showed a missile making a direct hit on a building in Tel Aviv, sparking massive blaze, after the early warning system reportedly failed to activate.

Some reports said an explosion was heard in the Krayot area near the occupied port city of Haifa, which came under massive missile and drone attack on Friday as well.

In a statement following the operation, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said the latest phase of Operation True Promise III was carried out in the central part of the occupied Palestinian territories and Ben Gurion Airport, targeting military facilities and operational support centers of the Zionist regime’s army.

The attack involved a massive deployment of Shahed-136 suicide and combat drones, along with precision-guided solid- and liquid-fueled missiles, which managed to hit and destroy pre-designated targets successfully.

The statement further noted that several squadrons of Shahed-136 drones continuously carried out missions over the skies of the occupied territories on Friday night and the most advanced air defense systems failed to intercept them.

"Combined missile and drone operations will continue in a sustained and targeted manner," the statement added.

It came hours after another strong wave of missiles and drones targeting Israeli military sites and industries as well as command and control centers and spying hubs.

A statement issued by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said long-range and super-heavy missiles as well as combat and suicide drones were used in this phase.

The spokesperson said the world must "await for our surprises," adding that the sacred defense with the support of the Iranian people will end with victory.

Despite the sweeping censorship, some videos were shared online showing smoke billowing up in the air at the Haifa port after one of the missiles made a direct impact there.

A barrage of missiles, some of them being used for the first time, also hit military targets in other parts of the occupied territories on Friday, including the cyber hub of Beer al-Sabe.

The headquarters of the Zionist propaganda outlet, Channel 14, was also successfully targeted on Friday after the prior evacuation warning issued by the IRGC.

True Promise III is a response to their Israeli aggression that started a week ago and led to the assassination of many high-ranking military commanders, nuclear scientists, civilians as well as attacks on nuclear sites and a state television building.

On Friday, following his meeting with European counterparts in Geneva, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi asserted that no talks would be held as long as the Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic continues.

Iran to Pursue Legal Action Against IAEA Chief’s ‘Inaction’ Over Israeli Aggression

Thursday, 19 June 2025 6:40 PM

Mohammad Eslami (L), head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) along with Rafael Grossi (R), head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), during the latter's visit to Iran in April, 2025. (Photo by AEOI)

The head of Iran’s atomic agency Mohammad Eslami has vowed to take up the case of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi’s “inaction” over the Israeli aggression against Iran’s nuclear sites through legal channels. 

In a letter to Grossi on Thursday, Eslami, who heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), addressed the issue of IAEA’s lack of action over continued Israeli aggression.

He said the Israeli regime’s attacks on Iranian nuclear sites constitute a clear violation of Geneva Convention and related protocols, UN Charter and United Nations Scientific Committee on the Works of Atomic Weapons, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Comprehensive Non-Proliferation Agreement between Iran and the UN agency, the safety standards of the UN agency and other relevant international conventions.

He urged an immediate end to the UN nuclear agency’s “inaction” by condemning the Israeli regime’s blatant violation of international conventions related to peaceful nuclear activities.

Eslami hastened to add that the Islamic Republic of Iran is taking necessary measures to defend its rights and will pursue legal actions against the IAEA chief in connection with his “inaction” over the Israeli regime’s aggression against Iranian nuclear sites.

In a separate statement on Thursday, Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal affairs, said the role of Grossi in the Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic will be raised with the UN Security Council.

He said the UN nuclear agency chief has refrained from condemning the Israeli regime despite repeated attacks on Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities, which shows he has become a pawn in the hands of the Israeli regime and the US.

Earlier on Thursday, in a statement, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei also lashed out at Grossi for “betraying the non-proliferation regime.”

Baghaei said the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had turned the UN agency into an “accomplice” in Israel’s “unjust and invasive war” on Iran.

“You have turned the agency into a tool in the hands of the parties that are not committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty so they can violate the rights that the committed parties enjoy under Article 4 of the treaty,” the spokesperson stressed.

Former Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif also took to X to slam Grossi’s “irresponsible and fallacious IAEA report, which he said caused “irreparable damage to the agency.”

“He must be held accountable for his complicity in the death of innocents in Iran caused by Israeli aggression using his report as a pretext.”

Days before the regime launched its aggression, IAEA released a politically-motivated report falsely accusing Iran of “non-compliance,” which was followed by a resolution against the country at the IAEA board of governors meeting in Vienna, pushed by the European countries and endorsed by the US.

The report and the subsequent resolution, according to analysts, facilitated the Israeli regime’s brutal aggression last Friday, leading to the assassination of many nuclear scientists as well as high-ranking military commanders.

Iran’s Religious Minorities Denounce Assassination Threats Against Ayatollah Khamenei

Saturday, 21 June 2025 10:15 AM

Iranian religious minorities condemn assassination threats against Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

In a show of national unity, the top representatives of Iran’s religious minorities and faith communities have strongly condemned recent threats against the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Signed by prominent leaders from Iran’s Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, and Mandaean communities, a statement issued on Saturday denounced the threats issued by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an attack not just on a political figure, but on the shared values and spiritual dignity of believers around the world.

"Divine leaders and religious scholars are the perfect mirror of the identity of the followers of divine religions... attacking them is considered an attack on the beliefs and emotions of hundreds of millions of people,” the statement reads.

The clerics warned that such threats violate the Charter of the United Nations and fundamental norms of international law, particularly those protecting high-ranking officials of sovereign UN member states.

The faith leaders also emphasized that if such threats are deemed imminent, they justify a legitimate right to preemptive self-defense under international legal standards.

Highlighting the issue's global religious dimension, the signatories also cautioned that these threats could provoke widespread and uncontrollable reactions both within the region and beyond.

“The world's religious and interfaith leaders, the United Nations Security Council... and other international institutions and legal authorities are expected to respond decisively, publicly, and effectively,” the statement noted.

The assassination threats against the Leader of the Islamic Revolution came after the Israeli regime launched an unprovoked aggression against Iran, which led to the assassination of many high-ranking military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.

In response, Iran launched Operation True Promise III, targeting strategic Israeli military and intelligence sites across the occupied territories.

Signatories:

Bishop Narsay Benjamin, Bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East in Iran, Armenia, and Georgia

Varosh Avansian, Chairman of the Armenian Caliphate Council of Tehran and the North

Rabbi Younes Hamami Lalehzar, Leader of the Jewish Community of Iran

Mobad Mehraban Poladi, Chairman of the Zoroastrian Association of Iran

Ganzora Nejat Chahili, Religious Leader of the Sabean Mandaeans of Iran

Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Slams Aggression Against Iran by Israel and Its Backers

Friday, 20 June 2025 7:27 PM

Ahmed El-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Egypt. (File photo)

Ahmed El-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, one of the leading Islamic institutions in Arab world, has strongly condemned the Israeli regime’s aggression against Iran.

In a statement on Friday, published in three languages, Tayeb slammed the Tel Aviv regime for its “ongoing aggression” and “systematic attacks” against the Islamic Republic.

“I strongly condemn the ongoing aggression by the occupying entity against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the systematic attacks and continued recklessness committed by this usurping aggressor and its backers,” read the statement.

He warned that such aggression risks “dragging the region to the brink of explosion and igniting a full-scale war, from which only arms dealers and profiteers of bloodshed would benefit."

Tayeb also criticized the global response to the Israeli regime’s unprovoked aggression against Iran, denouncing world powers for enabling the attacks through inaction.

“Silence in the face of this tyranny, and its failure to put an end to it, amounts to complicity in the crime,” he added. "War cannot create peace.”

His statement came as the Israeli regime’s aggression against the Iranian nation completed one week, starting with the assassination of senior Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians last Friday.

In response, Iran has carried out multiple waves of missile and drone attacks as part of Operation True Promise III, inflicting crushing blows on the illegitimate Zionist regime and its military and intelligence apparatus across the occupied territories.

Strait of Hormuz Closure in Event of US Aggression Against Iran to Paralyze World Economy

Saturday, 21 June 2025 1:07 AM

Amid US threats to militarily intervene in the Israeli war against Iran, the likelihood of the Islamic Republic ordering the closure of Strait of Hormuz is high. (File photo)

As regional tensions escalate amid the Israeli regime’s brutal aggression against the Islamic Republic, the possibility of the closure of Strait of Hormuz is a possibility, according to experts.

The likelihood of the ongoing war imposed on Iran extending to the sea has increased after US President Donald Trump indulged in war-mongering rhetoric against the Islamic Republic.

Trump, under the pressure of the powerful Zionist lobby in Washington, has dropped hints of directly intervening in the Israeli war against Iran, ignoring the counsel of his advisors.

Strategic experts, speaking to the Press TV website, said the direct American military intervention will prove costly for the US and the Donald Trump administration.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in a video message on Wednesday, categorically warned against any American military intervention.

“Those with wisdom, who truly understand Iran, its people, and its long history, never speak to this nation with the language of threats. Iran will not yield,” he asserted.

“The Americans must understand—any US military incursion will undoubtedly lead to irreversible consequences.”

Experts believe one of the repercussions of US military adventurism against the Islamic Republic would be the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran controls.

According to Tanker Trackers data, more than 80 percent of oil passes through this narrow strip and if it’s closed, the global economy and energy sector will be dealt a heavy blow.

Most multi-national corporations around the world would shut down within days as energy supplies necessary to keep them running would run out.

Many countries, including those in the Persian Gulf region, would suffer enormously in terms of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, experts warn, as LPG exports would be halted. 

Europe will have to deal with the new wave of energy crisis, more crippling and devastating than anything they have seen before, said an expert, including the three European countries that backed the anti-Iran resolution at the UN nuclear agency’s board of governors meeting.

The steep rise in energy prices would force the shutdown of major industries in the United Kingdom, Germany, France and other European countries.  

The United States, which has threatened to take military action against Iran on behalf of its proxy in the West Asia region, the Zionist regime, will also be affected severely, experts warn.

The gasoline prices in the country would rise, forcing the closure of many industries that contribute to the American economy, and make millions of people jobless.

According to some forecasts, oil prices are likely to jump 80 percent in the very first week if the Strait of Hormuz is closed, as alternative routes would incur heavy costs.

“So, the wisdom lies in the US staying away from this war, for its own benefit, and that of its allies,” said one expert. “Let the Zionist regime face the consequences of its terrorism.”

Zambia’s Ex-President Lungu Will Be Buried in South Africa Due to Family’s Feud with Government

Zambian President Edgar Lungu attends the Southern African Development Community’s leaders’ conference in Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, file)

By JACOB ZIMBA

10:27 AM EDT, June 20, 2025

LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — Former Zambian President Edgar Lungu will be buried in South Africa instead of his homeland because of a disagreement between his family and Zambia’s government over his funeral.

Lungu died from an undisclosed illness at a hospital in South Africa early this month and the process to repatriate his body for burial in Zambia has been marred by a bitter feud between his family and the current Zambian government. It included the family’s demand that Lungu’s political rival and current President Hakainde Hichilema should not attend his funeral.

The spokesperson and lawyer for the Lungu family, Makebi Zulu, said the decision to bury him in South Africa is “in accordance with the family’s wishes for a private ceremony.”

“We would especially like to extend our sincere appreciation to the Government of the Republic of South Africa for their respectful support and for honoring the family’s decision to hold a private funeral and burial here in South Africa,” Zulu said.

On Thursday, Hichilema, in a televised address to the nation, canceled the 16-day national mourning that he had declared earlier.

“Our country cannot afford a state of indefinite mourning,” he said. “We have done everything possible to engage the family of our departed sixth Republican President, and we have reached a point where a clear decision has to be made.”

Hichilema also apologized to the the South African government for the inconvenience.

Lungu, 68, had ruled the southern African country from 2015 to 2021, when he lost power to Hichilema. He remained an influential figure in the Zambian politics ahead of elections scheduled for next year.

Lungu and Hichilema were bitter rivals. Their conflict culminated in Hichilema’s imprisonment in 2017, when Lungu was president. Hichilema was accused of treason after his motorcade failed to give way to Lungu’s presidential convoy.

Last year, Lungu accused Hichilema’s government of using police to harass him and restrict his movements. His family also said the government had initially prevented him from traveling to South Africa for treatment, a charge the government denied.

Friday, June 20, 2025

Armed Rebels in Western Niger Kill 34 Soldiers and Wound 14, Authorities Say

Nigeriens participate in a march called by supporters of revolutionary leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, pictured, in Niamey, Niger, July 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

By MONIKA PRONCZUK

5:46 AM EDT, June 20, 2025

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Armed men killed 34 soldiers and wounded 14 others in western Niger near the tri-state border with Mali and Burkina Faso, the defense ministry said.

The attack was carried out around 9 a.m. Thursday in Banibangou by attackers using eight vehicles and more than 200 motorbikes, the ministry said in a statement.

The government said its forces killed dozens of attackers it called “terrorists,” adding that search operations by land and air were being conduted to find additional assailants.

Niger, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, has for more than a decade battled an insurgency fought by jihadi groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

Following military coups in the three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance. The three countries have vowed to strengthen their cooperation by establishing a new security alliance, the Alliance of Sahel States.

But the security situation in the Sahel, a vast region on the fringes of the Sahara Desert, has significantly worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with a record number of attacks and civilians killed by Islamic militants and government forces.

Niger Says it Will Nationalize a Uranium Venture Operated by France’s Orano

By MONIKA PRONCZUK

7:50 AM EDT, June 20, 2025

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Niger’s government said Thursday it would nationalize the Somaïr uranium venture operated by French company Orano and accused it of taking a disproportionate share of the uranium produced at the site.

The announcement comes as military authorities in the west African country tighten their grip on foreign companies and civil society. Tensions have simmered for months between Niger’s military government and the French company, and relations between Niamey and Paris have deteriorated.

“Faced with the irresponsible, illegal, and unfair behavior by Orano, a company owned by the French state — a state openly hostile toward Niger since July 26, 2023 ... the government of Niger has decided, in full sovereignty, to nationalize Somaïr,” the authorities said in a statement.

The authorities allege that Orano took a disproportionate share of the uranium produced at Somaïr. They added that the company has also been accused of other “irresponsible actions” at the site, without elaborating.

Orano did not immediately reply to The Associated Press’ request for a comment.

Somaïr is a joint venture between Orano and Niger’s state-owned Sopamin, which operates the only active uranium mine in the country. But last year, authorities took operational control of Somaïr. They also withdrew Orano’s operating permit for the Imouraren uranium mine, with reserves estimated at 200,000 tons.

Orano is involved in several arbitration processes with Niger. Last month it sued the Nigerien authorities after the disappearance of its director and the raiding of its local offices.

Orano has been operating in Niger, the world’s seventh biggest supplier of uranium, for over 50 years and holds majority shares in three main uranium mines in Niger.

Nigerien military authorities seized power in 2023 with a pledge to cut ties with the West and review mining concessions. Before that, the country was the West’s major economic and security partner in the Sahel, the vast region south of the Sahara Desert that has been a hot spot for violent extremism.

Food Rations are Halved in One of Africa’s Largest Refugee Camps After US Aid Cuts

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI

8:06 AM EDT, June 20, 2025

KAKUMA, Kenya (AP) — Martin Komol sighs as he inspects his cracked, mud-walled house that is one rain away from fully collapsing. Nothing seems to last for him and 300,000 other refugees in this remote Kakuma camp in Kenya — now, not even food rations.

Funding for the U.N. World Food Program has dropped after the Trump administration paused support in March, part of the widespread dismantling of foreign aid by the United States, once the world’s biggest donor.

That means Komol, a widowed father of five from Uganda, has been living on handouts from neighbors since his latest monthly ration ran out two weeks ago. He said he survives on one meal a day, sometimes a meal every two days.

“When we can’t find anyone to help us, we become sick, but when we go to the hospital, they say it’s just hunger and tell us to go back home,” the 59-year-old said. His wife is buried here. He is reluctant to return to Uganda, one of the more than 20 home countries of Kakuma’s refugees.

Food rations have been halved. Previous ration cuts led to protests in March. Monthly cash transfers that refugees used to buy proteins and vegetables to supplement the rice, lentils and cooking oil distributed by WFP have ended this month.

Each refugee now receives 3 kilograms (6 pounds) of rice per month, far below the 9 kilograms recommended by the U.N. for optimal nutrition. WFP hopes to receive the next donation of rice by August. That’s along with 1 kilogram of lentils and 500 milliliters of cooking oil per person.

“Come August, we are likely to see a more difficult scenario. If WFP doesn’t receive any funding between now and then, it means only a fraction of the refugees will be able to get assistance. It means only the most extremely vulnerable will be targeted,” said Colin Buleti, WFP’s head in Kakuma. WFP is seeking help from other donors.

As dust swirls along paths between the camp’s makeshift houses, the youngest children run and play, largely unaware of their parents’ fears.

But they can’t escape hunger. Komol’s 10-year-old daughter immerses herself in schoolbooks when there’s nothing to eat.

“When she was younger she used to cry, but now she tries to ask for food from the neighbors, and when she can’t get any she just sleeps hungry,” Komol said. In recent weeks, they have drunk water to try to feel full.

The shrinking rations have led to rising cases of malnutrition among children under 5 and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.

At Kakuma’s largest hospital, run by the International Rescue Committee, children with malnutrition are given fortified formula milk.

Nutrition officer Sammy Nyang’a said some children are brought in too late and die within the first few hours of admission. The 30-bed stabilization ward admitted 58 children in March, 146 in April and 106 in May. Fifteen children died in April, up from the monthly average of five. He worries they will see more this month.

“Now with the cash transfers gone, we expect more women and children to be unable to afford a balanced diet,” Nyang’a said.

The hospital had been providing nutrient-dense porridge for children and mothers, but the flour has run out after stocks, mostly from the U.S., were depleted in March. A fortified peanut paste given to children who have been discharged is also running out, with current supplies available until August.

In the ward of whimpering children, Susan Martine from South Sudan cares for her 2-year-old daughter, who has sores after swelling caused by severe malnutrition.

The mother of three said her family often sleeps hungry, but her older children still receive hot lunches from a WFP school feeding program. For some children in the camp, it’s their only meal. The program also faces pressure from the aid cuts.

“I don’t know how we will survive with the little food we have received this month,” Martine said.

The funding cuts are felt beyond Kakuma’s refugee community. Businessman Chol Jook recorded monthly sales of 700,000 Kenyan shillings ($5,400) from the WFP cash transfer program and now faces losses.

Those who are hungry could slip into debt as they buy on credit, he said.

Rwandan Opposition Leader Arrested Over Alleged Plot Against Authorities

In this Monday, Sept. 5, 2011 file photo, Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire listens to the judge during the her trial in Kigali, Rwanda. (AP Photo/Shant Fabricatorian, File)

By IGNATIUS SSUUNA

10:11 AM EDT, June 20, 2025

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — A prominent opposition leader in Rwanda has been arrested on charges she assisted an alleged plot to incite public unrest.

Victoire Ingabire was arrested on Thursday and is being detained in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Her team of international lawyers in a statement called her arrest “baseless and politically motivated.”

The Rwanda Investigations Bureau links Ingabire to alleged subversion after her name was mentioned in an ongoing criminal case against nine people accused of plotting to overthrow the government of President Paul Kagame.

The Rwanda Investigations Bureau said it was probing her alleged role in creating a criminal gang.

Ingabire appeared in court Thursday to be questioned by prosecutors who charged that she had been communicating with the nine suspects. Among the suspects is a journalist named Theoneste Nsengimana. The rest are members of the DALFA-Umurinzi group, a party led by Ingabire that is not recognized by authorities.

Ingabire previously led the FDU-Inkingi group, a coalition of opposition parties that also was never permitted to register with the government.

Ingabire spent 16 years in exile in the Netherlands and returned to Rwanda to launch an opposition political movement in 2010 but was imprisoned before she could contest the presidential election.

She was later found guilty of conspiracy to undermine the government and denying Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, charges she denied.

Sentenced to 15 years, she was freed in 2018 after obtaining presidential pardon.

But Kagame has since threatened Ingabire with a possible return to jail. In 2020 the president said that Ingabire should not be shocked if she is locked up again.

Her lawyers say she has committed no crimes.

“This re-arrest is simply the latest step in an ongoing campaign of harassment and intimidation which the Rwandan government has been carrying out” against Ingabire, the statement from her lawyers said.

Three decades after a genocide that killed an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus, Rwanda’s president has won international praise for presiding over a peaceful and rapid economic recovery.

But Kagame has faced criticism for what human rights groups say are widespread abuses, a muzzling of independent media and suppression of political opposition. He denies the accusations. 

Iranians Rally Nationwide in Support of Armed Forces Amid Israeli Aggression

Friday, 20 June 2025 2:27 PM

Iranians held nationwide rallies on Friday in solidarity with the country's armed forces and against the Israeli aggression.

Massive rallies were held in cities across Iran on Friday, following congregational prayers, to protest against Israeli-American aggression against the country and express solidarity with the Iranian armed forces.

In the capital, Tehran, tens of thousands of people marched from the University of Tehran in Enghelab Square to the iconic Azadi Tower in western Tehran.

Similar demonstrations took place in cities including Mashhad, Isfahan, Tabriz, Qom, Shiraz, Qazvin, Yazd, and Gilan, with participants reaffirming their unwavering support for the country’s armed forces

Demonstrators defied threats, carrying photos of martyrs and chanting vociferous against the Zionist regime and its Western backers, particularly the United States.

Slogans including “Death to the Zionist regime,” “Death to American arrogance,” and “Long live the martyrs” reverberated in the air as a mark of unity against the arrogant enemy.

People from all walks of life, representing all age groups, demonstrated a renewed determination to confront the Zionist regime and its imperialist allies.

“I am here for Iran, for the sacred soil of this land, for the martyrs, for the Leader. I pledge to stand by my country until my last breath and last drop of blood,” one young protester told the Press TV website in Tehran.

"People across the country are united today against the enemy because the red line has been crossed. We will avenge the sacred blood of our great martyrs," said another protester.

The rallies followed last Friday’s unprovoked Israeli aggression, which resulted in the martyrdom of many senior Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians, including children and women, prompting Iran’s retaliatory Operation True Promise III.

In the fifteen phases of the operation so far, Iranian armed forces – led by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) – have successfully targeted and decimated sensitive and strategic Israeli military and intelligence facilities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Military experts say the missile and drone strikes have further exposed the ineffectiveness of the Israeli regime’s air defense systems, forcing illegal settlers and regime officials to flee their homes and seek shelter underground.

On Friday, massive rallies were also held in Iraq and Yemen in solidarity with Iran amid the Israeli regime's aggression, with participants condemning the regime's war crimes.

Iran Exercising its Legitimate Right to Self-defense, FM Araghchi Tells E3 Counterparts

Friday, 20 June 2025 10:00 PM

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi speaks to media persons after holding talks with E3 counterparts in Geneva on Friday, June 20, 2025.

The first high-level meeting between Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and his E3 counterparts as well as the European Union’s foreign policy chief has concluded, with both sides agreeing to meet again in the near future. 

The marathon talks, held in Geneva, lasted nearly three and a half, according to reports.

Araghchi, accompanied by other senior diplomats, sat down with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot for talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

The talks, according to reports, focused primarily on the future of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The meeting, held at the European headquarters of the United Nations was initiated at the request of the three European signatories to the JCPOA.

Speaking to reporters after the conclusion of talks, Iran’s top diplomat asserted that as long as Israel continues its aggression against Iran, Tehran will not negotiate with any party.

The Israeli regime, he said, must stop its acts of aggression and crimes against the people of Iran, adding that until that doesn’t happen, there will be no negotiations with any party.

“Iran will continue to exercise its legitimate right to self-defense,” he remarked, adding that Iran is “deeply concerned” about the lack of condemnation of Israel’s horrific aggression.

Araghchi reiterated that the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program is peaceful and remains under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He hastened to add that Iran supports continued dialogue with the three European countries and the European Union, and is ready for another round of talks in the near future.

In a more detailed statement later, Iran's foreign minister said in Friday's meeting serious concern of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the inaction of the three European countries in condemning the aggressive actions of the Zionist regime was expressed.

It was emphasized that the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to exercise its legitimate right to self-defense against this regime with the aim of stopping the aggression and preventing its recurrence in a serious and decisive manner.

It was also emphasized in the meeting that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), so an attack on Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities is considered a crime and violation of international law.

"In this context, serious concern and criticism were expressed regarding the failure of the three countries and the European Union to condemn these attacks," noted the statement.

"If the aggression stops and the aggressor is held accountable for its committed crimes, Iran is ready to consider diplomacy. In this regard, I clearly and transparently stated that Iran's defensive capabilities are non-negotiable."

Earlier in the day, Araghchi delivered a speech at the United Nations Human Rights Council, said Iran is determined to defend its territorial integrity, national sovereignty, and security with all its might.

“The world, every country, every mechanism and institution of the United Nations, should be concerned and now must act to stop the aggressor, end impunity, and hold criminals accountable for their endless crimes and atrocities in our region,” he stressed.

“This request comes from someone who has dedicated their entire life to dialogue and diplomacy, but is also a veteran of the imposed war of Saddam’s regime and knows how to defend our beloved homeland.”

No Return to Diplomacy Amid Aggression Against Iran in Which US is Complicit: FM

Friday, 20 June 2025 9:37 AM

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to Geneva for talks with European counterparts on Friday, June 20, 2025. (File photo)

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has ruled out diplomatic negotiations as long as the wanton aggression against the Islamic Republic continues, holding the United States complicit in it.

Speaking ahead of his visit to Geneva where he is scheduled to hold talks with his European counterparts on the Israeli aggression, Araghchi said Tehran has explicitly stated that as long as the aggression does not stop, the talk of dialogue is meaningless.

He informed that some countries have reached out to Iran in recent days and urged de-escalation and return to diplomacy.

“I respond by saying that we were in the middle of diplomacy, so what are we supposed to return to? Or the attack by the Zionist regime on nuclear facilities; no one can explain why the Westerners do not allow this aggression to be condemned,” he remarked.

“They themselves cannot explain it and only evade the question, and there is an unjustifiable support (for it),” he said, referring specifically to attack on Iran’s nuclear sites.

The top Iranian diplomat said Tehran considers Washington an accomplice of the Israeli regime in its aggression against Iran, in a reference to statements made by US President Donald Trump in support of the regime and threats against top Iranian officials.

“We have nothing to talk with the United States as a partner in this crime,” he asserted.

He also ruled out any discussion regarding Iran’s ballistic missile program, stating that no rational mind can accept that Iran negotiate with anyone about its missile capabilities, which are “extraordinary and defensive” in nature.

Araghchi further said that Iran’s armed forces have only targeted military and economic centers of the Zionist regime in its retaliatory operation, True Promise III.

There are no residential areas, residential buildings or hospitals among Iran’s targets.

“I am aware of how precisely our missile attacks are designed and how much they adhere to ethical standards and international humanitarian law in warfare,” he noted.

True Promise III is a response to the Israeli aggression that led to the assassination of several top-ranking military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, including children and women.

On his meeting with counterparts from the UK, France and Germany in Geneva on Friday, the top diplomat said the discussions would be about nuclear and regional matters.

Araghchi further maintained that uranium enrichment on the Iranian soil will continue, adding that Iran “does not seek permission from anyone” to continue enrichment.

Earlier, in a post on X, Araghchi strongly condemned the Israeli aggression against a heavy water production facility in central Iran’s Arak province, which is under the comprehensive safeguards of the UN nuclear agency.

“The Arak Heavy Water Reactor—a facility under comprehensive IAEA safeguards and construction in strict accordance with the technical specifications agreed upon in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to eliminate any proliferation risk—was bombed yesterday in broad daylight by the Israeli regime,” he wrote.

He said it is “imperative” that the UN Security Council, which is meeting on Friday, upholds and implements its Resolution 487, unanimously adopted in response to the Israeli regime's attack on Iraq's nuclear facilities in 1981.

That resolution says any military attack on nuclear facilities constitutes an attack on the entire IAEA safeguards regime and ultimately on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Iran’s foreign minister warned that if the US Security Council fails to act today, it must explain to the international community why its legal principles are applied selectively on such a critical issue and added that in the event of the collapse of the global non-proliferation regime, the Council, alongside the Israeli regime, will bear full responsibility.

Third Hospital in Tehran Deliberately Targeted in a Week of Israeli Aggression 

Friday, 20 June 2025 12:39 PM

At least three hospitals in Tehran have been attacked by the Israeli regime in past week.

A third hospital in the Iranian capital Tehran was deliberately attacked early on Friday by the Zionist regime, according to Iran's ministry of health. 

In a statement, the ministry's public relations wing said the latest act of aggression marks the third instance of a public health facility being targeted during a week of wanton aggression. 

"Another hospital in Tehran was targeted by rockets by the Zionist regime at 4:45 AM on June 20, 2025," Dr. Hossein Karampur, the director of the ministry's public relations department, wrote on X. 

Last week, a children's hospital in Tehran was also targeted, which resulted in a number of injuries and damage to the hospital building.

In addition to the three hospitals, at least six ambulances and one health service center have also been directly and deliberately hit in Israeli aerial strikes in one week, amounting to brazen violation of international conventions. 

A female doctor, who worked at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, was killed in the Israeli aggression along with her husband and a three-year-old child.

The horrendous attacks on healthcare facilities and healthcare personnel in Iran have drawn widespread condemnation as they impede access to critical medical care and endanger the lives of patients and medical personnel. 

Since the aggression was launched against Iran last Friday, Israeli regime has deliberately targeted civilian areas, hospitals, and media houses in clear violation of international law.

However, according to human rights activists in Iran, the international community continues to turn a blind eye to these gross violations. 

Aggression Against Iran ‘Dangerous Development’ as US Pursues ‘Strategic Deception’: Houthi

Thursday, 19 June 2025 5:05 PM

Yemen's Ansarullah resistance movement leader, Sayyed Abdul-malik Houthi. (File photo)

The aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran is a “dangerous development” at the regional level while the United States pursues the practice of deception viz a viz Iran, said the leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement on Thursday.

In a televised speech, Sayyed Abdul Malik Houthi said the aggression by the Zionist regime took place when Iran, in line with its doctrine, has fundamentally not been pursuing the nuclear weapons program.

He said the Islamic Republic has been targeted by the West because of its support for the Palestinian cause and for refusing to back down, adding that they don’t want an “independent” Iran.

The Yemeni resistance leader said the West used the nuclear issue as a means of aggression against Iran while several countries, including the US, possess nuclear weapons and have used them in the past.

Houthi stated that the first entity that should be prevented from having nuclear weapons is the criminal Israeli enemy that continues to escape the punishment.

He said the fact that Iran supports the oppressed Muslim nations is what has caused concern among the enemies, terming it one of the “biggest reasons for hatred” against the country.

The Yemeni leader said Iran is an independent and free country that has established the Islamic cause based on its independence and does not surrender to the West.

The aggression against Iran, he noted, is a scandal for the US and a proof that it is resorting to “strategic deception.”

“The enemy has failed to achieve its goals of aggression for which the US is also striving, thanks to Iran's resistance, unity and devastating response,” Houthi asserted.

“The strong and powerful Iranian response has put the enemy in an unprecedented situation. Today's Iranian response was one of the most important operations and it raised the cry of the Israeli enemy while trying to distort the facts about it.”

In Thursday’s retaliatory operation as part of True Promise III, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) used both missiles and drones at targets in the occupied territories.

The target of this phase, the IRGC statement noted, were military and industrial facilities affiliated with the Israeli military-industrial complex in both Tel Aviv and Haifa.

The IRGC statement further said the drone operation earlier in the day involved more than hundred types of combat and suicide drones against Israeli military targets, especially anti-missile interceptors in Tel Aviv and Haifa.

These retaliatory operations come after the Israeli military aggression that led to the assassination of many top-ranking military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.

Kenya Court Sentences Two to Jail Terms for Aiding 2019 Hotel Attack

Kenya security forces at the scene of the Dusit hotel attack, Nairobi, Kenya, 15 January 2019

A court in Kenya on Thursday sentenced two men to 30 years in prison for aiding al-Shabaab militants in a 2019 attack on a Nairobi luxury hotel complex.

In January that year, gunmen shot their way into the Dusit hotel and office complex, killing 21 people in a siege that lasted 19 hours.

All five militants died in the attack.

Hussein Mohamed Abdille Ali and Mohamed Abdi Ali, both Kenyans, were convicted last month on charges of facilitation and conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.

The judge said they had played a critical role by helping two of the attackers escape from a refugee camp using fake identity cards.

They had also provided financial assistance to the group.

Both men have denied the charges and now have 14 days to appeal their sentences.

The Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab regularly carries out attacks in Kenya.

It aims to pressurise the government into withdrawing its peacekeeping troops from Somalia where it is waging an insurgency in a bid to seize power.

South Africa Declares State of Disaster Following Severe Weather

Rescue workers transport a person in a body bag after floods in Mthatha, South Africa, 12 June 2025

Africa News

South Africa declared a national disaster on Thursday following severe weather in several parts of the country last week.

While the snow, heavy rains, and high winds have impacted several provinces, the area around the city Mthatha in the Eastern Cape was the hardest hit.

The death toll from flooding in the region has increased to 92, with that figure likely to rise as mop-up operations continue.

Officials say that 31 children were among the dead.

At least two school children who were in a bus that was washed away are among the unverified number of missing persons according to local media reports.

Authorities have appealed for residents to report missing people so rescuers could better understand how many people they were still looking for.

The province declared Thursday a day of mourning for the victims and a memorial service was held at a school in Mthatha, one of the few left intact.

More than 4,000 people have been left homeless as a result of the heavy rains which damaged infrastructure, homes, and interrupted services in one of the country’s poorest provinces.

The Eastern Cape government said work was underway to restore water and power supplies.

Declaring a national state of disaster allows the government to release funding for relief and rehabilitation in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, and Free State provinces.

South Africa Opens a New Inquiry into Apartheid-era Killings Known as Cradock Four

By MICHELLE GUMEDE

3:20 AM EDT, June 19, 2025

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — When Nombuyiselo Mhlauli was given her husband’s body back for burial, he had more than 25 stab wounds in his chest and seven in his back, with a gash across his throat. His right hand was missing.

Sicelo Mhlauli was one of four Black men abducted, tortured and killed 40 years ago this month by apartheid-era security forces in South Africa. No one has been held accountable for their deaths.

But a new judge-led inquiry into the killings of the anti-apartheid activists who became known as the Cradock Four — and who became a rallying cry for those denied justice — opened this month.

It is part of a renewed push for the truth by relatives of some of the thousands of people killed by police and others during the years of white minority rule and enforced racial segregation.

Mhlauli described the state of her husband’s body during testimony she gave at the start of the inquiry in the city of Gqeberha, near where the Cradock Four were abducted in June 1985. Relatives of some of the three other men also testified.

Thumani Calata never got to know her father, Fort Calata, who had been a teacher. She was born two weeks after the funerals of the Cradock Four, which drew huge crowds and galvanized resistance to apartheid.

“I don’t know how it feels, and I will never know how it feels, to be hugged by my dad,” Thumani Calata, now 39, told the inquiry as she wept.

Two previous inquiries were held during apartheid. A two-year inquest that started in 1987 found the men were killed by unknown people. Another in 1993 said they were killed by unnamed policemen.

Police officers implicated have since died

Relatives of the Cradock Four likely will never see justice. The six former police officers directly implicated in the abductions and killings have died, the last one in 2023. None was prosecuted despite the post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission identifying them and denying them amnesty in the late 1990s.

That commission, set up by then-President Nelson Mandela, attempted to confront the atrocities of apartheid in the years after the system officially ended in 1994. While some killers were granted amnesty, more than 5,000 applications were refused and recommended for criminal investigation.

Hardly any made it to court.

Oscar van Heerden, a political analyst at the University of Johannesburg, said the bitter emotion of relatives at the Cradock Four inquiry showed wounds have not healed.

“Where it was felt that truth was not spoken and there wasn’t sufficient evidence to warrant forgiveness, those were cases that were supposed to be formally charged, prosecuted and justice should have prevailed,” van Heerden said. “None of that happened.”

Taking the government to court

The failure by post-apartheid governments for 25 years to pursue cases is now being scrutinized. Frustrated, the families of the Cradock Four finally forced authorities to rule last year that there would be a new inquiry into the killings.

They also joined with a group of relatives of other apartheid-era victims to take the South African government to court this year over the failure to investigate so many crimes.

As part of the settlement in that case, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered a national inquiry led by a retired judge into why apartheid-era killers were not brought to justice. The inquiry, which has not opened yet, threatens to expose further uncomfortable moments for South Africa.

While the majority of victims of political violence during apartheid were Black and other people of color, some were white, and families have come together across racial lines. A group of survivors and relatives from the 1993 Highgate Hotel massacre, where unknown men opened fire in a bar full of white customers, joined with the Cradock Four families and others in the case against the government.

They allege that post-apartheid authorities deliberately blocked investigations.

Other inquests have been reopened, including one into the 1967 death of Albert Luthuli, who was president of the banned anti-apartheid African National Congress movement when he was hit by a train. Luthuli’s death has been viewed with suspicion for more than 50 years.

Last chance to know the truth

At the Cradock Four inquiry, which is expected to resume in October for more testimony, Howard Varney, a lawyer for the families, said this is their last chance to know the truth.

The new inquiry has attempted to retrace the killings, from the moment of the men’s abduction at a nighttime police roadblock to the time their bodies were discovered, burned and with signs of torture. The families also want a former military commander and ex-police officers who may have knowledge of the killings to testify.

Lukhanyo Calata, the son of Fort Calata, said he accepted it was unlikely anyone would ever be prosecuted over the death of his father and his friends Mhlauli, Matthew Goniwe and Sparrow Mkonto. But he said he wants official records to finally show who killed them.

“Justice now can really only come in the form of truth,” Lukhanyo Calata told The Associated Press. “They may not have been prosecuted, they may not have been convicted, but according to court records, this is the truth around the murders of the Cradock Four.”

South Africa Declares National Disaster as Flooding Death Toll Rises to 92

Rescue workers transport a person in a body bag after floods swept through the area in Mthatha, South Africa, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

By MICHELLE GUMEDE

8:25 AM EDT, June 19, 2025

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa was under a declared state of national disaster on Thursday as the death toll from floods caused by severe rains in the Eastern Cape region rose to 92.

The Eastern Cape government honoured the victims of last week’s floods with a provincial Day of Mourning and a memorial service at King Sabatha Dalindyebo Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College in Mthatha, one of the few schools whose infrastructure remained intact.

Speaking at the public memorial service, Zolile Williams, a member of the executive council, said the people of the coastal province have not been the same since the disaster hit, and many are now faced with the challenging task of rebuilding.

“Since June 9, this province has been hit hard by unprecedented, catastrophic and unimaginable disasters, where in the whole of the province, about 92 people have perished,” said Williams.

“Since that day, the Eastern Cape has not been the same. It is the first time we have experienced so many dead bodies, some of whom have not yet been found.”

An extreme weather front brought heavy rain, strong winds and snow to parts of the province caused flooding in one of South Africa’s poorest provinces last week, leaving dozens dead and roads, houses, schools and other infrastructure damaged.

At least two school children who were washed away in a bus are among the unverified number of missing persons according to local media reports, while thousands have since been displaced.

Authorities have appealed for residents to report missing people so rescuers could better understand how many people they were still looking for.

Religious leaders from different Christian religions were among the hundreds of mourners who attended the memorial ceremony, lighting candles as a symbolic expression of remembering the 92 people who died in the floods.

In a government notice on Wednesday, Elias Sithole, director of the National Disaster Management Centre, said severe weather had caused property damage. and the disruption of vital services in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, the Western Cape, and the Free State, which prompted South Africa to declare a national state of disaster.

The declaration allows the government to release funding for relief and rehabilitation and will remain in place until it lapses or until the conditions can no longer be categorised as such and is revoked by the head of the centre.

President Cyril Ramaphosa recently visited the town of Mthatha, in Eastern Cape province, where the floods hit hardest.

Many of the Eastern Cape flood victims lived on floodplains close to rivers. Government officials said poor neighbourhoods with informal dwellings were most severely impacted. Authorities have been criticized for the rescue response but also for the state of the infrastructure in the area.

Kenyan Police Officers Arraigned Over Shooting a Civilian During Protests

By INAARA GANGJI and EVELYNE MUSAMBI

9:52 PM EDT, June 19, 2025

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A court in Kenya on Thursday gave detectives days to complete investigations into two police officers suspected of shooting and wounding a hawker during the latest street protests over the death of a blogger in custody.

The officers were arraigned in court two days after the Tuesday shooting on a busy street and under the full glare of cameras. It triggered anger and fury over persistent complaints against police brutality.

The hawker, Boniface Kariuki, remains hospitalized in critical condition in an intensive care unit.

Tuesday’s protests in the capital, Nairobi, followed tensions over the death of blogger Albert Ojwang, who was found dead while in custody at the Central Police Station.

Ojwang was arrested on June 6 in western Kenya for what police called publishing “false information” about a top police official on social media. Police attributed his death to him “hitting his head against the cell wall,” but activists have questioned the cause of death.

Protesters on Tuesday demanded the arrest of the police deputy inspector general, Eliud Langat, who had filed a defamation complaint against Ojwang.

Langat said Monday he had stepped aside and would cooperate with investigators. The two officers at the Central Police Station were arrested last week.

The officers who were accused of shooting the hawker during protests appeared in court Thursday. Klinzy Barasa and Duncan Kiprono were represented by their lawyer, Abdirazak Mohammed.

“There is a difference between public pressure and the law. The public pressure is a political thing, and law is regarding what has happened. I can’t preempt anything, there was no case brought today,” the lawyer told journalists.

The officers will remain in custody until July 3. During their court appearance, they concealed their faces with masks, sparking complaints from activists.

Kenya has a history of police brutality, and President William Ruto previously vowed to end it, along with extrajudicial killings.

Last year, several activists and protesters were abducted and killed by Kenyan police during protests against tax hikes. The demonstrations led to calls for Ruto’s removal.

Thursday, June 19, 2025

Firms Led by US Military Veterans Deliver Aid in Africa and Gaza, Alarming Humanitarian Groups

A Fogbow aid plane is loaded at an airport in Juba, South Sudan, on Monday, June 9, 2025, before conducting airdrops of food in the Upper Nile region. (AP Photo/ Florence Miettaux)

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER, SAM MEDNICK and FLORENCE MIETTAUX

10:17 AM EDT, June 18, 2025

ON A PLANE OVER UPPER NILE STATE, South Sudan (AP) — Swooping low over the banks of a Nile River tributary, an aid flight run by retired American military officers released a stream of food-stuffed sacks over a town emptied by fighting in South Sudan, a country wracked by conflict.

Last week’s air drop was the latest in a controversial development: private contracting firms led by former U.S. intelligence officers and military veterans delivering aid to some of the world’s deadliest conflict zones, in operations organized with governments that are combatants in the conflicts.

The moves are roiling the global aid community, which warns of a more militarized, politicized and profit-seeking trend that could allow governments or combatants to use life-saving aid to control hungry civilian populations and advance war aims.

In South Sudan and Gaza, two for-profit U.S. companies led by American national security veterans are delivering aid in operations backed by the South Sudanese and Israeli governments.

The American contractors say they’re putting their security, logistics and intelligence skills to work in relief operations. Fogbow, the U.S. company that carried out last week’s air drops over South Sudan, says it aims to be a “humanitarian” force.

“We’ve worked for careers, collectively, in conflict zones. And we know how to essentially make very difficult situations work,” said Fogbow President Michael Mulroy, a retired CIA officer and former senior defense official in the first Trump administration, speaking on the airport tarmac in Juba, South Sudan’s capital.

But the U.N. and many leading non-profit groups say U.S. contracting firms are stepping into aid distribution with little transparency or humanitarian experience, and, crucially, without commitment to humanitarian principles of neutrality and operational independence in war zones.

“What we’ve learned over the years of successes and failures is there’s a difference between a logistics operation and a security operation, and a humanitarian operation,” said Scott Paul, a director at Oxfam America.

“‘Truck and chuck’ doesn’t help people,” Paul said. “It puts people at risk.”

‘We don’t want to replace any entity’

Fogbow took journalists up in a cargo plane to watch their team drop 16 tons of beans, corn and salt for South Sudan’s Upper Nile state town of Nasir.

Residents fled homes there after fighting erupted in March between the government and opposition groups.

Mulroy acknowledged the controversy over Fogbow’s aid drops, which he said were paid for by the South Sudanese government.

But, he maintained: “We don’t want to replace any entity” in aid work.

Shared roots in Gaza and U.S. intelligence

Fogbow was in the spotlight last year for its proposal to use barges to bring aid to Gaza, where Israeli restrictions were blocking overland deliveries. The United States focused instead on a U.S. military effort to land aid via a temporary pier.

Since then, Fogbow has carried out aid drops in Sudan and South Sudan, east African nations where wars have created some of the world’s gravest humanitarian crises.

Fogbow says ex-humanitarian officials are also involved, including former U.N. World Food Program head David Beasley, who is a senior adviser.

Operating in Gaza, meanwhile, Safe Reach Solutions, led by a former CIA officer and other retired U.S. security officers, has partnered with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed nonprofit that Israel says is the linchpin of a new aid system to wrest control from the U.N., which Israel says has been infiltrated by Hamas, and other humanitarian groups.

Starting in late May, the American-led operation in Gaza has distributed food at fixed sites in southern Gaza, in line with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stated plan to use aid to concentrate the territory’s more than 2 million people in the south, freeing Israel to fight Hamas elsewhere. Aid workers fear it’s a step toward another of Netanyahu’s public goals, removing Palestinians from Gaza in “voluntary” migrations.

Since then, several hundred Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more wounded in near daily shootings as they tried to reach aid sites, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Witnesses say Israeli troops regularly fire heavy barrages toward the crowds in an attempt to control them.

The Israeli military has denied firing on civilians. It says it fired warning shots in several instances, and fired directly at a few “suspects” who ignored warnings and approached its forces.

It’s unclear who is funding the new operation in Gaza. No donor has come forward, and the U.S. says it’s not funding it.

In response to criticism over its Gaza aid deliveries, Safe Reach Solutions said it has former aid workers on its team with “decades of experience in the world’s most complex environments” who bring “expertise to the table, along with logisticians and other experts.“

South Sudan’s people ask: Who gets our aid drops?

Last week’s air drop over South Sudan went without incident, despite fighting nearby. A white cross marked the drop zone. Only a few people could be seen. Fogbow contractors said there were more newly returned townspeople on previous drops.

Fogbow acknowledges glitches in mastering aid drops, including one last year in Sudan’s South Kordofan region that ended up with too-thinly-wrapped grain sacks split open on the ground.

After gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan has struggled to emerge from a civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people. Rights groups say its government is one of the world’s most corrupt, and until now has invested little in quelling the dire humanitarian crisis.

South Sudan said it engaged Fogbow for air drops partly because of the Trump administration’s deep cuts in U.S. Agency for International Development funding. Humanitarian Minister Albino Akol Atak said the drops will expand to help people in need throughout the country.

But two South Sudanese groups question the government’s motives.

“We don’t want to see a humanitarian space being abused by military actors ... under the cover of a food drop,” said Edmund Yakani, head of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, a local civil society group.

Asked about suspicions the aid drops were helping South Sudan’s military aims, Fogbow’s Mulroy said the group has worked with the U.N. World Food Program to make sure “this aid is going to civilians.”

“If it wasn’t going to civilians, we would hope that we would get that feedback, and we would cease and desist,” Mulroy said.

In a statement, WFP country director Mary-Ellen McGroarty said: “WFP is not involved in the planning, targeting or distribution of food air-dropped” by Fogbow on behalf of South Sudan’s government, citing humanitarian principles.

A ‘business-driven model’

Longtime humanitarian leaders and analysts are troubled by what they see as a teaming up of warring governments and for-profit contractors in aid distribution.

When one side in a conflict decides where and how aid is handed out, and who gets it, “it will always result in some communities getting preferential treatment,” said Jan Egeland, executive director of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Sometimes, that set-up will advance strategic aims, as with Netanyahu’s plans to move Gaza’s civilians south, Egeland said.

The involvement of soldiers and security workers, he added, can make it too “intimidating” for some in need to even try to get aid.

Until now, Western donors always understood those risks, Egeland said. But pointing to the Trump administration’s backing of the new aid system in Gaza, he asked: “Why does the U.S. ... want to support what they have resisted with every other war zone for two generations?”

Mark Millar, who has advised the U.N. and Britain on humanitarian matters in South Sudan and elsewhere, said involving private military contractors risks undermining the distinction between humanitarian assistance and armed conflict.

Private military contractors “have even less sympathy for a humanitarian perspective that complicates their business-driven model,” he said. “And once let loose, they seem to be even less accountable.”

___

Knickmeyer reported from Washington. Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Father of a Man Shot During Latest Protests in Kenya Calls for Police Accountability

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI, BRIAN INGANGA and INAARA GANGJI

8:43 PM EDT, June 18, 2025

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Activists and the father of a Kenyan civilian who was shot at close range by police during the latest protests over the alleged killing of a blogger in custody on Wednesday demanded accountability and called for the officer who shot him to be charged.

Boniface Kariuki’s father, Jonah Kariuki, told journalists his only son remained under intensive care after he underwent surgery on Tuesday night. He said the shotgun round went through his son’s head, just above the ear, but the surgery had been “successful” and “his heart was beating.”

The 22-year-old Kariuki, a hawker like his father, was holding a packet of face masks and is believed to have been caught up in a confrontation with two officers in Nairobi as hundreds of protesters clashed with police. One officer, who had concealed his face with a mask, shot him in the head as he walked away.

Police in a statement expressed concern and said that two officers, Klinzy Barasa and Duncan Kiprono, had been arrested and were being processed by detectives for “further action.”

Tuesday’s protests in the capital followed tensions over the death of the blogger, Albert Ojwang, who was found dead while in custody at the Central Police Station.

Ojwang was arrested on June 6 in western Kenya for what police called publishing “false information” about a top police official on social media. Police attributed his death to him “hitting his head against the cell wall,” but activists have questioned the cause of death.

Protesters on Tuesday demanded the arrest of police deputy inspector general Eliud Langat, who had filed a defamation complaint against Ojwang.

Langat said Monday he had stepped aside to pave the way for investigations and would cooperate with investigating agencies. Two officers at the Central Police Station were arrested last week.

Kariuki said the officer who shot his son should take “individual responsibility” for his actions.

At the family’s home in Murang’a County, in the highlands of central Kenya, neighbors spoke of nervousness about letting their children travel to Nairobi in search of work due to rising cases of police brutality.

The victim’s mother, Susan Njeri, told The Associated Press that she last spoke to her son on Sunday, urging him to be safe during the planned protests.

“If they saw him with a stone or a baton, it would make sense to shoot him,” she said. “But none of this makes sense. It was not a confrontation, he was just hustling.”

A Kenyan politician and activist, Okiya Omtatah, on Wednesday called for the prosecution of the officer and questioned why police were wearing facemasks during an operation.

Tuesday’s protests turned violent and 16 people were taken to the hospital where Mwangi was being treated. The hospital’s spokesperson on Wednesday said injuries included gunshot wounds and that seven people were still hospitalized.

The judiciary in a statement on Wednesday said it was committed to “uphold justice” in all cases including those involving alleged police brutality.

The U.K embassy in Kenya in a statement on X social media urged for “a swift, independent & transparent investigation into the actions of the police.”

Amnesty International’s Kenya office accused police of not arresting criminals who infiltrated the protests. Police on Wednesday said they were investigating incidents of robbery believed linked to the protests, and had arrested one suspect and recovered four laptops from a shop that was broken into.

Kenya has a history of police brutality, and President William Ruto previously vowed to end it, along with extrajudicial killings.

Last year, several activists and protesters were abducted and killed by Kenyan police during protests against tax hikes. The demonstrations led to calls for Ruto’s removal.

———

Gangji contributed from Murang’a, Kenya.

Photos Capture Shooting of a Man by a Kenyan Police Officer During Protests Against Police Brutality

By BRIAN INGANGA

6:30 AM EDT, June 18, 2025

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An Associated Press photographer captured the shooting of a civilian by a Kenyan police officer in the head at close range on Tuesday, during the latest protest against the country’s deadly and pervasive issue of police brutality.

It happened on one of Nairobi’s busiest streets, again outraging many Kenyans, who have long witnessed officers shooting or beating protesters and others. Tuesday’s shooting was rare because the officer fired in full view of journalists.

The AP is publishing the photos despite their graphic nature because they show evidence of a police shooting of a civilian.

The photos show the sequence of events

The man who was shot appeared to be a vendor, not a protester — he fell holding a packet of face masks he was selling.

The photos show officers jumping off a vehicle, with guns.

An officer wearing a face mask fires his gun in the direction of protesters, who are outside the frame of the photo.

The same officer and a colleague run over to the vendor. It’s not clear why they approached him, guns drawn, or what was said.

The officers push at the man, who raises his hands toward his face.

As he is shoved and moves away, the man glances back. The officer raises his weapon and shoots at him. The man crumples to the sidewalk.

After the shooting, the officer and his colleague walk away.

The man was being treated at a Nairobi hospital

The man survived, according to a spokesperson at the Nairobi hospital where he and several others hurt during the protest were taken.

He was not the only one with a gunshot wound, but he quickly came to represent them all.

A senior health ministry official, Patrick Amoth, told local media later Tuesday that the man — still unidentified — was in surgery, with a bed on standby in intensive care.

Kenya has a history of killings during protests

For decades, Kenya’s police officers have been accused of extrajudicial killings during protests or with the aim of silencing critics. Watchdog groups in Nairobi keep tallies. Multiple officials have vowed to rein it in.

Tuesday’s protest was over the death in police custody earlier this month of a blogger who a senior police official had accused of defamation.

Later Tuesday, as questions grew about the shooting — “Killer police,” one Nairobi headline read — police expressed concern. In a statement, they said the officer had been arrested. Police did not name him, but outraged Kenyans zoomed in on his uniform.

Kenyan President William Ruto, who has promised to halt police brutality, did not immediately comment. The next protest against police abuses is scheduled for June 24.

Funeral Standoff Halts Repatriation of Former Zambian President’s Body

By JACOB ZIMBA

2:24 PM EDT, June 18, 2025

LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — The family of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu delayed the repatriation of his body from South Africa for a second time Wednesday in a feud with the country’s current leader over the details of the funeral.

The family’s lawyer said that they would not bring Lungu’s body home as planned on Wednesday because they don’t want President Hakainde Hichilema to attend Lungu’s funeral. Lungu and Hichilema were bitter political rivals.

Lungu, who was 68, died in a South African hospital of an undisclosed illness on June 5 and was meant to be honored with a state funeral, which Hichilema was due to preside over.

Lungu family lawyer Makebi Zulu said it was Lungu’s wishes that Hichilema “should not be anywhere near” his body when he is buried.

“It is our hope that someday his remains will be repatriated back home and buried,” Zulu said.

Lungu’s body was initially due to be repatriated last weekend following seven days of national mourning, but the family didn’t allow that because of disagreements over the funeral program. His body was then due to return home to the southern Africa country this week for a procession ahead of a rescheduled state funeral on Monday.

Hichilema has offered his condolences to the family and said it should be a time for the country to show unity. Information Minister and government spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa said the government “remains hopeful” that the issue will be resolved.

Lungu beat Hichilema in a 2016 election. Hichilema was then imprisoned for four months in 2017 and accused of treason by Lungu’s government for his motorcade not giving way to Lungu’s on a road.

Their rivalry continued in a 2021 presidential election, which was won by Hichilema.

Last year, Lungu, who remained influential in politics, accused Hichilema’s government of using the police to harass him and restrict his movements. His family also said the government initially prevented him from traveling to South Africa for treatment, a charge the government denied.

The World’s Only Twice-a-year Shot to Prevent HIV Could Stop Transmission — if People Can Get It

By LAURAN NEERGAARD

8:31 PM EDT, June 18, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has approved the world’s only twice-a-year shot to prevent HIV, the first step in an anticipated global rollout that could protect millions – although it’s unclear how many in the U.S. and abroad will get access to the powerful new option.


While a vaccine to prevent HIV still is needed, some experts say the shot made by Gilead Sciences — a drug called lenacapavir — could be the next best thing. It nearly eliminated new infections in two groundbreaking studies of people at high risk, better than daily preventive pills they can forget to take.


“This really has the possibility of ending HIV transmission,” said Greg Millett, public policy director at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research.


Condoms help guard against HIV infection if used properly but what’s called PrEP — regularly using preventive medicines such as the daily pills or a different shot given every two months — is increasingly important. Lenacapavir’s six-month protection makes it the longest-lasting type, an option that could attract people wary of more frequent doctor visits or stigma from daily pills.



But upheaval in U.S. healthcare — including cuts to public health agencies and Medicaid — and slashing of American foreign aid to fight HIV are clouding the prospects.


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Millett said “gaping holes in the system” in the U.S. and globally “are going to make it difficult for us to make sure we not only get lenacapavir into people’s bodies but make sure they come back” twice a year to keep up their protection.

Gilead’s drug already is sold to treat HIV under the brand name Sunlenca. The prevention dose will be sold under a different name, Yeztugo. It’s given as two injections under the skin of the abdomen, leaving a small “depot” of medication to slowly absorb into the body. People must test negative for HIV before getting their twice-a-year dose, Gilead warned. It only prevents HIV transmission — it doesn’t block other sexually transmitted diseases. Some researchers who helped test the shot advise cold packs to counter injection-site pain.

Global efforts at ending the HIV pandemic by 2030 have stalled. There still are more than 30,000 new infections in the U.S. each year and about 1.3 million worldwide.

Only about 400,000 Americans already use some form of PrEP, a fraction of those estimated to benefit. A recent study found states with high use of PrEP saw a decrease in HIV infections, while rates continued rising elsewhere.

About half of new infections are in women, who often need protection they can use without a partner’s knowledge or consent. One rigorous study in South Africa and Uganda compared more than 5,300 sexually active young women and teen girls given twice-yearly lenacapavir or the daily pills. There were no HIV infections in those receiving the shot while about 2% in the comparison group caught HIV from infected sex partners.

A second study found the twice-yearly shot nearly as effective in gay men and gender-nonconforming people in the U.S. and in several other countries hard-hit by HIV.

Ian Haddock of Houston had tried PrEP off and on since 2015 but he jumped at the chance to participate in the lenacapavir study and continues with the twice-yearly shots as part of the research follow-up.

“Now I forget that I’m on PrEP because I don’t have to carry around a pill bottle,” said Haddock, who leads the Normal Anomaly Initiative, a nonprofit serving Black LGBTQ+ communities.

“Men, women, gay, straight – it really just kinds of expands the opportunity for prevention,” he added. Just remembering a clinic visit every six months “is a powerful tool versus constantly having to talk about, like, condoms, constantly making sure you’re taking your pill every day.”

Gilead said the U.S. list price, meaning before insurance, is $28,218 a year, which it called similar to some other PrEP options. The company said it anticipated insurance coverage but also has some financial assistance programs.

Most private insurers are supposed to cover PrEP options without a co-pay although the Supreme Court is considering a case that could overturn that requirement. Congress also is considering huge cuts to Medicaid. And while community health centers still are an option, the Trump administration has largely dismantled HIV prevention work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that would normally get the message to vulnerable populations who’d qualify for the shot, said Carl Schmid of the nonprofit HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute.

Schmid worries the shot won’t meet its potential because “we’re basically pulling the rug out of HIV prevention and testing and outreach programs.”

Gilead also has applications pending for the twice-yearly shot in other countries. Last fall, the company signed agreements with six generic drug makers to produce low-cost versions of the shot for 120 poor countries mostly in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. Gilead plans to make enough shots to supply 2 million people in those countries, at no profit, until the generics are available, said company senior vice president Dr. Jared Baeten.

Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS, said in a statement the price is still too high. If it’s unaffordable, she said, “it will change nothing.”

And HIV experts worry the arrangements Gilead has made to reduce costs in some countries leave out middle-income countries like some in Latin America.

“Everyone in every country who’s at risk of HIV needs access to PrEP,” said Dr. Gordon Crofoot of Houston, who helped lead the study in men. “We need to get easier access to PrEP that’s highly effective like this is.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

LAURAN NEERGAARD

Neergaard is an Associated Press medical writer who covers research on brain health, infectious diseases, organ transplantation and more. She is based in Washington, D.C.