Author: Admin

German federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that law enforcement carried out searches at multiple locations as part of an ongoing investigation into a suspected effort to undermine the country’s gas supply — an effort tied to a murky ownership maneuver involving the former German arm of Russian energy company Gazprom.

According to prosecutors, police conducted searches at the Berlin residence of a suspect and at the home of a second individual who is not under investigation. A third location — an unnamed company in Frankfurt — was also searched. Prosecutors confirmed that nobody was taken into custody.

The individual under investigation is a Russian national whose identity has not been disclosed. That person faces suspicion of serving as an accessory to violations of Germany’s foreign trade investment regulations, as well as being an accessory to attempted sabotage against the constitutional order, according to a prosecutorial statement.

The case traces back to events shortly after Russia launched its full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in 2022. German officials said that around that time, the parent company announced it was pulling out of its German unit, known as Gazprom Germania. The buyer then reportedly ordered the unit to be liquidated — a step that is not permitted before a purchase receives official approval.

German authorities responded by placing a federal government agency in charge of Gazprom Germania, effectively blocking the attempted shutdown. Officials described the unit as being of critical importance to natural gas trading, transportation, and storage across Germany. The company was later brought under full government ownership and is now called Securing Energy for Europe.

Prosecutors believe the sale of the unit to a Moscow-based company with no ties to the energy sector — combined with the attempted liquidation — was designed to disrupt Germany’s gas supply, given the country’s support for Ukraine. The suspect is believed to have actively assisted in carrying out the decision to liquidate the company with that goal in mind.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany moved quickly to cut its reliance on Russian natural gas. Moscow subsequently halted its remaining gas deliveries to Germany. Shortly afterward, underwater explosions damaged the Nord Stream pipelines, which were constructed to deliver Russian natural gas to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea.

MELBOURNE, Australia — The head of Australia’s domestic intelligence agency revealed Wednesday that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard directed arson attacks against Jewish targets in Sydney and Melbourne through two agents who had previously lived in Australia.

Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), stated plainly that “Iran continues to view Australia as a legitimate target for covertly directed acts of violence.”

The attacks in question occurred two months apart in 2024. Fires damaged Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, a kosher restaurant in Sydney, and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. Australia formally attributed both incidents to Iran last year, setting off a significant diplomatic crisis that resulted in Iran’s ambassador being expelled from the country. Tehran has rejected the accusations.

During his annual national security briefing, Burgess disclosed that an Australian citizen currently residing in Iran had orchestrated the Sydney firebombing, while the Melbourne attack was directed by a former Australian resident now living in Iraq. He withheld both individuals’ names in order to protect active investigations and ongoing criminal proceedings.

According to Burgess, the Australian citizen held a senior position within the Revolutionary Guard and was responsible for managing its international networks. The former Australian resident, meanwhile, had been recruited through militia groups operating in Iraq. Burgess noted that the Revolutionary Guard had specifically valued this individual’s criminal ties and had actively supported his illegal activities.

That arrangement, however, came to an abrupt end. “That changed dramatically after ASIO publicly named Iran’s involvement in the arsons,” Burgess said. He added that “this person’s Iranian backers lost their enthusiasm and after further pressure from Australian and local law enforcement, they threw him in prison.”

Burgess called the investigation into the two attacks “one of the most difficult and detailed in recent ASIO history.” He had previously indicated that the Revolutionary Guard was suspected of involvement in other antisemitic crimes across Australia dating back to the beginning of Israel’s conflict with Hamas in 2023.

Multiple individuals are currently facing criminal charges in connection with the arson attacks. It has not yet been established whether those charged knew the true identity of the parties they were working for.

A devastating fire at a data centre in New Delhi has left businesses scrambling after the facility, jointly operated by Singapore’s ST Telemedia and India’s Tata Communications, suffered what officials are calling “extensive damage.”

Tata Communications notified Indian stock exchanges on June 5 that it had activated emergency business continuity measures following an early morning blaze at the STT Global Data Centres India location. A letter dated June 15, obtained by Reuters, reveals the full scale of the destruction.

Television footage captured from inside the building on the day of the fire showed server racks and electrical equipment that appeared to be completely destroyed, with ceiling panels caved in and debris scattered across the floor.

Tata Communications subsidiary Novamesh wrote to one of its clients that the fire was “so severe that it caused extensive damage” to portions of the facility and disrupted services. The letter went on to say, “Despite our ongoing best efforts to recover the data, the severity of the damage … presents significant challenges to the recovery of the affected data and systems.”

Neither Tata Communications nor ST Telemedia responded to requests for comment from Reuters.

Delhi fire authorities indicated the blaze originated in lithium battery units, though the exact cause has not been determined.

One affected client, Indian company Matrix Cellular — which sells international SIM cards — says it may have lost more than two decades of records. CEO Gaurav Khanna told Reuters, “Matrix has potentially lost access to over 20 years of accumulated operational and business data stored in the affected Tata data centre.” He added, “It’s been 20 days and they have not restored backup. If there is a backup it should have been restored by now.” Matrix says it also lost customer records, usage history, support logs, and billing and vendor data, and that sales have dropped sharply as a result of the outage.

A second affected business, Indian internet service provider R2 Net, is facing an estimated $2 million in losses along with the departure of commercial clients. Its CEO, Sanjay Singh, told Reuters the fire also damaged “vital tracking data stored in servers and used by law enforcement to monitor illegal internet activity.”

A representative of STT Global Data Centres India told R2 Net in a June 23 email — also reviewed by Reuters — that the company was conducting “detailed assessments and commissioned independent technical root cause analysis” of the incident, with results expected within five to seven weeks.

Google Cloud’s intermittent network problems in India have also been linked to the same fire, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter. On June 9, Google posted on its incidents page that “a fire at a third-party data center facility required an emergency power shutdown of networking equipment,” without identifying the facility by name. In its most recent update on June 23, Google said no workaround was available yet and cautioned customers to expect potential latency issues until the site is fully restored. Google did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Tata Communications describes itself as serving 300 of the Fortune 500 companies and says it connects businesses to 80% of the world’s largest cloud providers.

The joint venture between ST Telemedia and Tata Communications dates back to 2016, when ST Telemedia purchased a 74% stake in Tata Communications’ data centre operations. Together, they now manage 30 data centres across 10 cities in India.

The fire compounds recent difficulties for the broader Tata group. Tata Electronics recently experienced a cybersecurity incident in which a ransomware website posted what it claimed were documents belonging to clients Apple and Tesla on the dark web.

In its letter to Matrix Cellular, Novamesh described the fire as “clearly an unfortunate force majeure event,” saying that “services under the agreements at the data Centre facility have been hindered” and that “the position continues to be assessed.” The joint venture’s website had previously touted the facility as having a “state-of-the-art fire protection and suppression system.”

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces launched overnight strikes against a massive natural gas processing facility and two military satellite communications centers inside Russia, Ukraine’s General Staff announced Wednesday.

The attacks are part of an ongoing aerial campaign targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure and defense industries, which has been ramping up as Ukraine develops more advanced long-range weapons in its fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion, now stretching into its fifth year.

The overnight operation hit the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant, which is part of a larger complex that also contains Russia’s only helium production facility, the General Staff announced via the Telegram messaging platform. The strike ignited a fire at the complex, according to the statement.

Orenburg sits more than 1,200 kilometers — roughly 750 miles — behind the front lines currently running through eastern and southern Ukraine.

According to the General Staff, the plant ranks among the largest gas processing facilities in the world. It produces helium, which is used in liquid-fuel rocket engines and guidance systems, as well as ethane, an essential ingredient in making solid rocket fuel and gunpowder, among other products.

The General Staff’s claims could not be independently confirmed, and Russian officials had not publicly responded as of Wednesday.

Ukraine’s military did not specify whether drones or missiles were used in the assault, though drones have been the weapon of choice in recent strikes on Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The same overnight operation also targeted two satellite communication hubs used by Russia’s military. One was the Dubna Space Communications Center near Moscow — described by the General Staff as the largest ground-based satellite facility in Russia — and the other was located in the Vladimir region, east of the Russian capital.

Ukraine has also been stepping up attacks on Crimea, aiming to sever the strategically important Russian-controlled peninsula. Overnight drone strikes knocked out power in Sevastopol, according to Mikhail Razvozhayev, the city’s Moscow-appointed governor, who made the announcement Wednesday.

Kyiv’s strategy in Crimea involves disrupting Russian military supply lines and hitting the peninsula’s power grid during the peak summer tourist season. Western analysts say Ukraine hopes the campaign will embarrass Russian President Vladimir Putin and fuel public pressure on him to bring the war to an end.

Crimea holds significant strategic value due to its location on the Black Sea, housing naval bases and serving as a key supply corridor for Russian forces operating inside Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Security Service also reported Wednesday that it struck two military airfields and destroyed missile systems in Crimea.

Russia’s Defense Ministry stated that Russian forces shot down 323 Ukrainian drones overnight. Ukraine’s air force, meanwhile, reported that Russia launched 101 long-range attack drones during the same period.

BEIJING — China’s anti-corruption watchdog announced Wednesday that Bian Zhigang, the deputy head of the country’s defense industry agency and national space administration, is being investigated for what officials described as “suspected serious violations of discipline and law.”

The investigation is part of an extensive, years-long crackdown on corruption launched by President Xi Jinping. The campaign has resulted in dozens of senior government officials and high-ranking military generals being investigated, removed from their posts, or expelled. Just last month, two former Chinese defense ministers received death sentences — with a two-year reprieve — after being convicted on graft charges.

Those sentencings came after a series of recent purges targeting executives at state-owned weapons manufacturers, researchers working on military technology, and nuclear scientists.

Bian has spent much of his career at the defense industry agency, which is formally called the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence. The agency plays a central role in overseeing China’s most advanced defense-related sectors.

According to the agency’s own website, it is “responsible for the organisation and coordination of major matters related to weapons and equipment research and production in the fields of nuclear, space, aviation, shipbuilding, armaments and electronics, as well as the development of core defence industry capabilities.”

Attempts to reach Bian for comment on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

ANKARA — Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced Wednesday that his government is actively working on a legal framework designed to accelerate the dissolution of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, a militant organization that has waged an insurgency against Turkey for more than 40 years.

Addressing members of his ruling AK Party during a session in parliament, Erdogan said the proposed legal measures would be placed on the parliamentary agenda without delay. He did not provide specific details about what those measures would entail.

The Turkish president emphasized that Ankara remains firmly committed to bringing the ongoing peace process with the PKK to a successful conclusion and permanently ending the group’s long-running armed campaign against the Turkish state.

The European Commission unveiled a series of new measures on Wednesday designed to strengthen Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, and better equip it to handle the growing threat of cross-border and digitally-driven crime.

The announcement comes after Europol warned last year that organized crime groups have been increasingly turning to artificial intelligence-powered scams to target victims. Stopping smuggling networks that illegally transport migrants across Europe also remains a top priority for governments throughout the region.

Under the new plan, Europol will develop its own sovereign cloud infrastructure and establish a shared data space, making it easier for investigators to work together on joint cases across national lines.

The agency will also open support offices within EU member countries, with those offices to be staffed by personnel who have prior Europol experience, according to the Commission.

Additionally, Europol will work to deepen its relationships with international partners and improve how it coordinates with Eurojust, the EU body responsible for judicial cooperation.

EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen emphasized the urgency of the reforms, saying, “Criminals are highly adept at exploiting the opportunities of the digital realm, operating effectively across borders without limitations.”

Virkkunen added, “We are strengthening both Europol and Eurojust so that Europe can respond faster… share information more effectively, and bring criminals to justice more efficiently.”

CAIRO — An 18-year-old who fled Sudan’s civil war seeking safety in Egypt instead died of pneumonia after spending more than three weeks in a filthy Cairo jail. Friends and relatives say Al-Nazir Al-Sadig endured beatings and was robbed by fellow inmates before his death.

Al-Sadig, a high school student, was swept up in what lawyers and human rights organizations describe as a wide-ranging crackdown on refugees — one that stands in stark contrast to Egypt’s reputation as a place of refuge.

Egypt pushes back against characterizations that it is hostile to refugees. The country took in more than a million people after war erupted in Sudan in 2023, serving as a barrier for those who might otherwise head north toward Europe. However, with an economic crisis mounting and public sentiment turning against migrants, authorities have adopted a far stricter posture, carrying out waves of arrests and deportations.

Beginning late last year, plainclothes security officers began detaining thousands of refugees and other migrants at their homes, workplaces, and on the street — pulling them into unmarked vehicles, according to accounts from 45 refugees, seven lawyers, and eight advocates. Some refugees have chosen to return to conflict-ridden Sudan on their own rather than risk forced family separation. Others have gone into hiding, as activists warn that a newly enacted law could further weaken protections for asylum seekers.

Three Egyptian security officials, speaking anonymously and citing figures not previously made public, said authorities have deported more than 5,500 people since November. That marks a dramatic surge compared to roughly 100 formal deportations annually in both 2023 and 2024. Egypt does not release detailed immigration data, and the figures could not be independently confirmed by Reuters.

Reuters documented three deaths of Sudanese refugees inside Egypt’s overcrowded detention facilities this year: a 30-year-old man who collapsed within 72 hours of being detained, a 67-year-old man with diabetes, and the teenager Al-Sadig. Two of the security officials said a total of nine Sudanese nationals had died while in custody, though they provided no details about the circumstances. The additional deaths could not be independently verified.

Ten people who had been held in police-run facilities described refugees sleeping in shifts due to a lack of floor space, physical abuse, theft of food and clothing, and unsanitary conditions. One Eritrean refugee detained during the crackdown described a violent sexual assault by other female inmates — an account supported by medical records from a Cairo hospital.

Karim Ennarah of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights called the scale of the campaign “unprecedented,” saying it violates Egypt’s obligations under international law, which limits the deportation of refugees.

“Protection as it existed in Egypt for decades has collapsed,” he said.

Egypt’s State Information Service told Reuters that deportation is “generally carried out only though clear legal procedures and judicial guarantees,” and only when someone is found to have broken the law or poses a national security threat. Officials denied that any broad campaign targeting refugees is underway.

The Egyptian government has maintained that isolated incidents do not represent state policy, pointing out that millions of Sudanese and other migrants live, work, and study in Egypt and have access to public services including schools and healthcare.

According to United Nations figures, Egypt ranked second globally in asylum applications in 2025 — something the information service cited as evidence of “the confidence of individuals seeking protection” in the country.

CHOOSING WAR OVER DEPORTATION

At a bus stop in central Cairo, a 40-year-old schoolteacher named Hosna waited with her four children among hundreds of others preparing to travel back to Sudan. She said she feared her two teenage sons could be arrested — despite the family having U.N. refugee status obtained upon their arrival two years ago, they were still waiting for an Egyptian residency appointment. She said children from two families in her apartment building had already been detained and sent back.

“I came here searching for safety but there is no safety. It’s better to die in my country than lose my children,” said Hosna, who gave only her first name.

More than a dozen refugees, including Hosna, expressed deep concern about returning to Sudan, where the capital Khartoum faces frequent drone strikes and barely functioning public services — even as the army reclaimed control from paramilitary forces last year and the government has encouraged residents to return.

Sudan’s information ministry did not respond to a request for comment regarding deportations from Egypt or the dangers deportees may face upon return.

The civil war that began in 2023 has driven millions from their homes amid ethnically motivated violence and campaigns of ethnic cleansing, including a massacre in Darfur. Millions of people are surviving on one meal a day in what has become one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.

A new asylum law passed by Egypt in 2024 gives refugees the right to work and access education and healthcare. However, it drew criticism from UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, for granting officials broad discretion over who qualifies for refugee status.

Ennarah said implementing regulations published this month fall short of protecting refugees from refoulement — the forced return of people to places where their lives or freedom are in danger.

“The law’s expanded grounds for denial and revocation risk codifying the crackdown,” he said.

In its statement to Reuters, the Egyptian government said the law “affirms respect for human dignity and the principle of non-refoulement” and protects refugees from discrimination and inhumane treatment.

UNHCR said it is troubled by the arrests, detentions, and deportations, including of women and children who are registered with the U.N.

“Returns to Sudan should not take place under the current circumstances, given the ongoing conflict and humanitarian situation, which do not allow for safe and sustainable return,” UNHCR said in response to Reuters questions, while acknowledging the pressure the refugee crisis has placed on public services.

Security sources said Egypt has previously deported Sudanese migrants, including turning thousands away at the border. But the current campaign has more frequently targeted urban areas, including Cairo, and has in some cases affected people who had been living in Egypt for years before the conflict began.

More than 1.1 million people are registered with UNHCR in Egypt, the vast majority of them Sudanese, along with Syrians, Eritreans, and others. The European Union pledged Egypt 7.4 billion euros in 2024, partly in recognition of Egypt’s role in absorbing migrants who might otherwise travel north toward Europe.

INSIDE THE CELLS

On January 18, a white minibus stopped abruptly outside Al-Sadig’s home as he stood with three friends. Plainclothes men got out and arrested all of them, according to his sister Nadia.

Al-Sadig had crossed borders from Sudan’s capital Khartoum with his family in October 2024, settling in Badr, a suburb east of Cairo. Hoping to return to Sudan quickly, he had not taken steps to legalize his presence in Egypt, two family members said.

He was placed in a cell holding more than 140 inmates in a space measuring roughly 6 meters by 6 meters, thick with cigarette smoke. One of the friends detained alongside him, Nabil Suleiman, told Reuters that criminal detainees robbed Al-Sadig.

“It was suffocating. There was no oxygen. Only one broken AC,” Suleiman said.

Al-Sadig told relatives during visits that other prisoners were taking the food they brought him, his sister Nadia said. Inmates survived on jail rations of bread and cheese, Suleiman said. Water came from a hose inside a toilet area. Clothing was stolen by other inmates, including Al-Sadig’s sweater, leaving him shivering during Cairo’s cold winter nights.

During his mother’s last visit, Al-Sadig complained of a chest infection and asked for medicine, saying none was available in the jail, according to Nadia and another family member. The following day, a police officer called to inform the family he had died.

The public prosecutor’s office listed pneumonia as the cause of death, Nadia said, citing a judicial official who oversaw the case. Reuters could not independently confirm the cause of death. The information service did not respond to questions about Al-Sadig’s case.

That same day, Suleiman and the others who had been detained with Al-Sadig were deported to the Sudanese border town of Halfa. Speaking to Reuters from Omdurman — Khartoum’s twin city — where he is currently unemployed, Suleiman described an agonizing 18-hour journey to the border in Egyptian custody, hands and legs chained, with no food, water, or sleep. He said he was given no explanation for the deportation.

Nine other former detainees described similar experiences: extreme overcrowding, scarce food, dirty water, theft, beatings by other inmates, and mistreatment or indifference from guards. Sudanese and darker-skinned refugees were said to be particularly targeted by other inmates.

A 23-year-old Sudanese asylum seeker who said he spent three weeks in a police station described being charged for basic necessities — including a spot on the floor to sleep. Those who refused to pay were forced to remain standing.

“This is when you suffer from hallucinations,” he said.

An Eritrean tea seller in Cairo, who showed Reuters her Egyptian residency card and U.N. refugee documentation, said she was arrested by plainclothes officers while working in August. One officer tore her residency permit, she said. While held in a police lockup, she said three female convicts sexually assaulted her. Medical records from Cairo’s Mostafa Mahmoud clinic confirmed she was treated after her release for uterine bleeding. The hospital confirmed the records were authentic but declined to comment further.

Now 40 years old, she said she is too frightened to leave her home and, without income, is relying on charity from neighbors to survive.

Abazar Youssef, 37, a dual British-Sudanese citizen, was visiting family in Egypt on a tourist visa when he was caught in a January 25 raid in downtown Cairo. During two weeks of detention, he said he witnessed criminals assaulting, blackmailing, and extorting refugees. He said police officers regularly beat detainees during morning lineups. He was deported to Britain on February 14. The British embassy in Cairo confirmed it had provided consular assistance to a detained British national and had been in contact with Egyptian authorities regarding the case.

TOKYO (AP) — Two Japanese citizens are being held in China on suspicion of smuggling materials that are banned from being imported or exported, a Japanese government official announced Wednesday. Reports indicate the case may be connected to rare earths — critical materials that China largely controls.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told journalists in Tokyo that Chinese customs authorities notified Japanese consular offices in Shenyang and Dalian about the arrests. One individual was detained on May 18, and the other was taken into custody a week later, both as part of what Kihara described as “the same alleged case.”

Kihara confirmed that both detainees are in good health, but declined to provide additional details about the individuals or the specifics of the case, citing privacy concerns and the active nature of the investigation.

In Beijing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, acknowledged that two Japanese citizens had been detained for breaking Chinese law, though no specifics about the case were offered.

“What we would like to emphasize is that the Japanese side should educate and remind Japanese citizens and enterprises in China to abide by Chinese laws and regulations,” Guo stated at a daily press briefing.

According to Kyodo News agency, the two Japanese nationals are employees of a major Japanese machinery manufacturer, with one working at the company’s Chinese subsidiary. Kyodo reported that their alleged attempt to remove materials connected to rare earths may have been considered a violation of Chinese law.

The arrests come roughly five months after Beijing prohibited exports to Japan of dual-use goods — items that can serve both commercial and military purposes. While China has maintained that the export controls do not apply to commercial products, trade figures show that Chinese exports of rare earth magnets to Japan have dropped since the restrictions were put in place.

Relations between the two major Asian economies have been under significant stress for several months. Tensions escalated after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested late last year that Chinese military action against Taiwan — a self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own territory — could justify a Japanese military response. That stance marked a departure from the strategic ambiguity that previous Japanese leaders had maintained on the Taiwan issue.

Adding to the friction, a Japanese man who had been held since March 2023 was convicted last year in China on espionage charges and sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

MOSCOW — Russia’s Kremlin said Wednesday that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are currently tied up with other matters, but that Moscow fully expects talks with them regarding Ukraine to pick back up once their schedules open up.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered the remarks in response to a question about whether other envoys might step in for Ukraine discussions while Witkoff and Kushner remain occupied. The two are currently part of the American delegation working on peace negotiations with Iran.

“We understand that contacts will continue,” Peskov stated. “Naturally, they are occupied with other matters right now, but at some point they will become available, and we are counting on further work.”

Peskov also expressed Russia’s appreciation for the envoys’ work on Ukraine, calling their approach “highly constructive” and adding, “They are willing to listen to all sides — that is especially valuable right now.”

These relatively upbeat remarks stand in contrast to statements made earlier this week by senior Russian officials, who accused Washington of failing to honor “understandings” that were reportedly reached between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump during a summit held in Alaska last August.

Russian officials have repeatedly invoked what they call the “Spirit of Anchorage” — a term analysts say refers to what Moscow interpreted as a potential arrangement under which Ukrainian forces would pull back from the portions of the Donbas region they still hold, in exchange for Russia halting advances along other parts of the front. Ukraine, however, has consistently and firmly stated it will not surrender any of its territory to Russia without a fight.

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has sentenced well-known civil rights figure Mahrang Baloch and a fellow activist to life in prison, finding them responsible for the death of a paramilitary soldier during a protest that took place in July 2024.

Baloch’s attorney announced that the verdict would be challenged in court.

Baloch has been behind bars since March 2025. Prior to her detention, she was a prominent voice against enforced disappearances and what she described as human rights abuses in Balochistan, a southwestern Pakistani province where ethnic separatist groups have been engaged in an insurgency spanning several decades.

Human rights advocates have raised serious concerns about the conduct of the trial. The defendants were asked to participate via video link from prison but chose to boycott the proceedings instead.

Activists warned that the life sentences handed down to Baloch and Sibghatullah — another leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) advocacy organization — could deepen mistrust between the Baloch community and the Pakistani government.

Officials from the Balochistan government defended the outcome, stating the verdict followed a fair legal process and demonstrated that protesters who resort to violence and target government personnel can face terrorism charges.

Sarfaraz Bugti, the chief minister of Balochistan province, declared that justice had been delivered for Sepoy Shabbir Baloch, a soldier who was killed by protesters while on duty in the port city of Gwadar.

“Those who take the law into their own hands under the guise of peaceful protest, promote violence, and target state officials are in fact facilitators of terrorism,” Bugti stated.

The Quetta anti-terrorism court found both Baloch and Sibghatullah guilty of murder and terrorism-related charges. According to the court, Baloch had incited protesters to attack paramilitary personnel stationed at the demonstration, and both eyewitness testimony and medical evidence supported the prosecution’s case.

BYC organizer Lala Abdul Baloch condemned the proceedings as a “faceless” trial and cautioned that the ruling could push more young Baloch people toward resistance.

“When you close access to the corridors of justice then more people will rise up against the state,” he said. He added that the group has called for a province-wide strike in protest of the court’s decision.

Baloch’s attorney, Israr Jattak, confirmed on Wednesday that the verdict would be taken before the Balochistan High Court on appeal.

HONG KONG (AP) — China’s Premier Li Qiang took the stage Wednesday to argue that his country’s rapid technological growth represents a positive development for the global community, not something to fear.

Speaking at the opening session of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions — commonly called “Summer Davos” — Li delivered his remarks in the northeastern Chinese coastal city of Dalian. The forum draws global business and political leaders each year.

Li acknowledged that concerns have been mounting worldwide about China’s tech boom, with some critics using the phrase “China Shock 2.0” to describe what they see as a destabilizing force for advanced economies. Li rejected that framing entirely, offering a different label instead.

“From the global development perspective, ‘China Opportunity 2.0’ means there’ll be broader access to advanced technologies and more widely shared benefits,” Li said.

He continued: “China’s emerging technologies and products are bringing to the world not shocks, but opportunities. Not threats, but empowerment.”

China has dramatically expanded its exports of electric vehicles, solar panels, computer chips, batteries, artificial intelligence systems, and robotics in recent years. While those products have offered lower-cost options in global markets, they have also triggered complaints from governments worried about oversupply and unfair competition. Several countries have responded with protectionist trade measures.

Li also pushed back on the widely held view that Beijing’s heavy government subsidies are the engine behind China’s high-tech surge. U.S. and European policymakers have repeatedly raised alarms about Chinese state support giving its industries an unfair edge. A June report from the 38-country Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, known as the OECD, warned that large state subsidies — including those provided by China — can distort global markets and tilt the competitive playing field.

Li dismissed those concerns directly. “There are some people who say that Chinese products are competitive mainly because the Chinese government’s subsidies,” he said. “That’s not true. The Chinese government is not that wealthy.”

Instead, he pointed to China’s enormous domestic market of 1.4 billion people, which allows new technologies to be deployed rapidly and at massive scale, along with significant private-sector investment, as the real forces behind the country’s technological momentum.

Li highlighted two Chinese companies as examples of that homegrown innovation success: tech giant Huawei and robotics firm Unitree. Both companies have grown quickly in size and market share, though both have also faced restrictions in Western markets. Earlier this month, the Pentagon expanded its list of Chinese companies with alleged military ties to include Unitree, barring it from receiving U.S. defense contracts. Huawei is also on that list.

Authorities governing the eastern portion of divided Libya have officially closed their borders to citizens of four neighboring African nations, in what appears to be an effort to reduce the flow of migrants using the country as a stepping stone to reach Europe.

Libya’s northern coastline has long served as one of the primary departure points for migrants from across Africa hoping to reach European shores. Smugglers routinely load these individuals onto overcrowded and dangerous vessels, and thousands have lost their lives making the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean.

The ban, which was announced late Tuesday, formally states that nationals from Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia are “prohibited from entering Libyan territory through all land, sea, and air ports.” The government noted that exceptions would apply to diplomats as well as workers in the health and education fields.

In a separate but related development, hostility toward refugee resettlement has been growing in both eastern and western Libya over recent months. Large-scale crackdowns have resulted in thousands of refugees being arrested, according to Amnesty International.

The United Nations reports that more than 900,000 migrants and refugees are currently living in Libya, with Sudanese nationals making up the largest group. While many of these individuals are attempting to reach Europe, boats are frequently intercepted and returned to Libya, where migrants are often placed in government-run detention facilities. Those facilities have been documented as sites of serious abuses — including forced labor, beatings, sexual violence, and torture — conduct that U.N.-commissioned investigators have characterized as crimes against humanity.

Libya has been in a state of instability since the NATO-supported overthrow of longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The nation currently operates under two separate governments — one in the west and one in the east — with no unified authority in place.

LONDON (AP) — Andy Burnham moved a step closer to becoming Britain’s next prime minister on Wednesday after Cabinet minister Darren Jones, who had been floated as a potential rival, announced he would not seek the Labour Party leadership.

At the same time, outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer is pressing ahead with efforts to leave a lasting mark on his tenure before departing office. Starmer faced the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session in Parliament on Wednesday before traveling to Berlin to meet with European allies for discussions on Ukraine and the Middle East.

Starmer revealed his intention to step down on Monday and is expected to be out of office within weeks, once the Labour Party selects a new leader.

Jones, a close ally of Starmer, had been urged by some party members to enter the race so that Burnham’s ideas and policies would face scrutiny from Labour lawmakers and members. Others within the party, however, argued that a leadership contest would only shine a spotlight on internal divisions and prolong political uncertainty.

Speaking to Sky News, Jones said running for the leadership is “not something that I’m going to do.”

Even so, Jones offered a warning to Burnham, cautioning him against shifting too far to the left on economic matters — a concern shared by some in the business and financial sectors. Burnham is widely expected to name a new Treasury chief to succeed Starmer’s appointee Rachel Reeves. Jones said the person chosen must be someone “that can reassure the markets, reassure the trade unions and reassure the parliamentary Labour Party, and by extension the public.”

Burnham is expected to deliver a speech next week laying out elements of his economic vision.

Starmer is departing after two years in office that were clouded by missteps and poor judgment calls that weakened his standing with both his party and the British public.

Burnham, a former Cabinet minister who has served as mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017, won a special parliamentary election last week specifically to position himself to challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership and the prime ministership.

As of now, he has no declared opponents. Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, once seen as Burnham’s main competition, has announced he will support Burnham instead.

Labour leadership nominations are set to open on July 9 and close one week later. Should Burnham be the sole candidate, he could be installed as prime minister as soon as July 17. If a contest does emerge, the new leader is expected to be in place when Parliament returns from its summer recess on September 1.

On Tuesday, Starmer told his Cabinet he intends to oversee an “orderly transition” to whoever succeeds him.

Despite his lame-duck status, Starmer is maintaining a packed schedule in an effort to cement his legacy. However, he is restricted from making major new policy announcements or committing to new spending during the remainder of his time in office.

His trip to Berlin for a gathering of the “E5” — Germany, France, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom — for talks on European defense, the Ukraine war, and Middle East conflict highlights the international role he has played. Starmer has generally been seen as more confident on the world stage — particularly in rallying allies to support Ukraine and managing fallout from the Iran conflict — than he has been on domestic issues.

The British government is expected to release a long-awaited defense investment plan before a NATO summit in Turkey on July 7 and 8, which Starmer is likely to attend. That same plan triggered the resignation of Defense Secretary John Healey on June 11.

BUDAPEST — Hungary’s LGBTQ+ community is taking to the streets of the capital Budapest on Saturday for its annual Pride march, with activists and community members pushing to reclaim rights that were steadily eroded during Viktor Orban’s 16-year tenure in power.

Last year’s march became far more than a celebration — when police moved to ban it under Orban’s direction, the event transformed into a massive anti-government protest drawing tens of thousands of participants.

The political landscape has since shifted. Orban was ousted from power after Peter Magyar’s centre-right Tisza party defeated him in April elections. With the change in government, the ban on the march has been removed and Saturday’s event has received official authorization to proceed. Still, organizers are cautioning that the struggle isn’t finished.

“Last year, our love of freedom and our courage forced authoritarian power to retreat… But we have not reached our goal yet,” organizers said in a statement ahead of the march.

During his time in office, Orban positioned himself as a protector of what he described as Christian values against Western liberalism. His government enacted laws that eliminated the ability to change gender on official documents, prohibited same-sex couples from adopting children, and outlawed educational materials deemed to promote homosexuality or gender transition.

For LGBT activist and writer Adam Andras Kanicsar, the damage caused by those years will take considerable time to heal. Speaking with Reuters during a film shoot at a Budapest vintage shop, he reflected on the lasting personal toll.

“I’m still processing the Orban regime, I guess, and then I will process it for years. And I’m not alone with it,” he said.

He added: “In these last 16 years …working as an LGBTQ journalist and writing and speaking about LGBTQ people meant that I always had to go that one extra mile, every time…And I will never get back these miles in my life.”

Magyar, who identifies as a conservative, has urged patience when Hungarian media pressed him on plans to reverse legislation that restricted LGBT rights. However, he has spoken out against Orban’s former party, Fidesz, telling them in parliament “to leave the bedrooms of the Hungarian people as soon as possible” and condemning the party’s efforts to suppress the right to public assembly by banning the Pride march.

Labor unrest is intensifying across Australia’s resources industry, with the country’s iron ore mines and ports now facing a heightened threat of strikes. Major companies including BHP say the combination of rising costs and increased red tape is weakening Australia’s standing as a destination for mining investment.

Mining unions have stepped up industrial action ever since the Labor government passed legislation in 2022 that gave them greater power to negotiate wage agreements covering multiple employers, more flexibility in working arrangements, and the ability to call industry-wide strikes.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that working days lost to labor disputes surged in the final three months of 2025 to their highest point since 2022. Workers have been pushing for pay increases and stronger job protections as Australia contends with 4% inflation and three interest rate hikes over the past year.

Earlier this month, strike activity disrupted shipments of liquefied natural gas from the Ichthys LNG project, which produces about 10% of Australia’s total LNG output. The project’s Japanese operator, Inpex, eventually reached a deal with unions to end the disruption.

Shell’s Prelude floating LNG vessel is now heading into its own wage negotiations. If no new employment agreement is reached, unions have the option of applying to Australia’s labor arbitration body to authorize strike action.

David Peetz, a professor of employment relations at Griffith University, noted that recent union wins in the energy sector are sending a message to workers across the industry. “Seeing union victories in the oil and gas sector in the region will tell a lot of workers that being unionised can make a difference,” he said.

Oil and gas workers had already begun rejoining unions before the 2022 law took effect, and they waged extended wage battles in 2022 and 2023 that resulted in significant pay increases.

Tensions are also rising at BHP’s Port Hedland operations, a critical hub for iron ore exports. Unions may pursue coordinated industrial action if no agreement is reached at their next scheduled meeting on July 7.

Port Hedland, which is also used by Fortescue and Hancock, moves approximately $150 million worth of iron ore every day — highlighting just how much is at stake if operations are disrupted at Australia’s most important export facility.

At a conference in March, BHP’s head of Australian operations, Geraldine Slattery, warned that Australia risks “losing its status as a top mining destination” if issues with costs and productivity are not resolved. Australian mine workers are already counted among the highest-paid in the world.

Jon Mills, an analyst at Morningstar, cautioned that if escalating industrial action continues to push wages higher, “then BHP and Rio will continue to automate as much as possible.”

Europe’s aviation safety agency is urging commercial airlines not to let their guard down over the Middle East, even after a framework deal was reached between Washington and Tehran.

The EU Aviation Safety Agency, known as EASA, announced Wednesday that it is extending its conflict-zone advisory covering the region through July 1. The agency said airlines should continue avoiding the airspace above Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon.

According to EASA, short-term violations of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire remain a real possibility — especially in and around the Strait of Hormuz and the airspace surrounding it.

The agency also pointed to the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah as an ongoing concern, warning that military activity could still affect Lebanese airspace.

In addition, EASA called on all airline operators to exercise caution and carefully weigh potential risks when flying through the airspace of Bahrain, Kuwait, Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

Train service across Germany was operating close to normal Wednesday morning after a communication system failure brought rail traffic to a sudden stop late Tuesday, leaving passengers stranded and sparking sharp criticism of the country’s main railway operator.

The disruption was caused by a malfunction in the GSM-R digital communication system, which the rail network relies on for internal operations. All train movement across Germany was halted abruptly, with service not resuming for approximately two hours. During that time, frustrated travelers crowded around information desks seeking answers.

Deutsche Bahn, the federally owned company that operates Germany’s primary rail network, reported that trains were moving “largely seamlessly” by Wednesday morning, though it acknowledged the possibility of some isolated service reductions throughout the day.

Officials have not yet revealed what caused the system to fail.

The incident comes amid a backdrop of growing frustration over the reliability of German rail service, with complaints about delays and interruptions becoming more common in recent years. Deutsche Bahn is currently undertaking major overhauls of key rail routes — a response to years of underinvestment — though the work itself has caused significant disruptions.

Oliver Krischer, who serves as the regional transport minister in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populated state, did not mince words in his reaction. Speaking to news agency dpa, he called the shutdown “a new low in already poor operating quality,” adding that “all rail traffic in Germany comes to a halt because of a technical defect.”

Krischer also stressed the need for better safeguards, saying there must be “emergency mechanisms that prevent such a disaster in the future. People rely on reaching their destination at least somewhat punctually by rail.”

Officials from Israel and Lebanon are engaged in ongoing discussions in Washington over a U.S.-supported proposal that would have Israeli forces hand over portions of southern Lebanese territory — currently under Israeli occupation following the war with Hezbollah — to the Lebanese military, according to Israeli and Lebanese officials.

Israeli officials said that Lebanese troops who would take control of the territory would first undergo training and screening by the United States to confirm they have no ties to the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Under the proposal, Israel would continue to maintain a military footprint in a buffer zone running along the border.

The proposal is being described as a “pilot” project and is part of the current round of negotiations between Israeli and Lebanese officials, which began in Washington on Tuesday.

Hezbollah has rejected the diplomatic effort, and the process has been further complicated as Iran has made Lebanon a central issue in its own separate negotiations with the United States.

When asked about the Israeli officials’ statements, a senior Lebanese security official confirmed that talks were continuing in Washington and that Wednesday’s agenda would include direct military-to-military discussions, with the pilot zones among the topics on the table.

The Lebanese official said the conversations would center on a timeline for Israeli withdrawal, and that no final plan is expected to emerge until the last day of talks on Thursday. The official declined to address the Israeli account of U.S. vetting procedures for Lebanese troops.

The most recent conflict between Hezbollah and Israel broke out when the group began firing on Israel in a show of solidarity with Tehran during the early stages of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

A ceasefire has largely held since Sunday, though Israeli forces remain positioned deep within southern Lebanon, where they have established a self-declared security zone. Israel has said the zone is necessary to protect northern Israel from potential Hezbollah attacks.

A preliminary agreement reached between Iran and the United States last week calls on both nations and their allies to immediately and permanently halt military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and to uphold Lebanon’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

SYDNEY — A top official at Australia’s central bank said Wednesday that the institution still has more to do to bring inflation down, describing current price pressures as “far too high” — though he noted that falling global oil prices tied to a possible end to the Middle East conflict could offer some relief.

Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser delivered a speech focused on the Phillips curve, an economic framework that describes how inflation and unemployment tend to move in opposite directions. He explained how that framework has shaped the bank’s decisions to raise interest rates this year.

Hauser said the board chose to begin lifting rates back in February out of concern that consumer demand was outpacing the economy’s ability to supply goods and services by a greater margin than anticipated. That imbalance was pushing inflation higher, and officials determined that tightening monetary policy was necessary to bring prices back under control over time.

“But this is where being on the steeper part of the Phillips curve has a potential silver lining,” Hauser said. “It also implies that timely policy steps to reduce inflationary pressures, of the kind we have taken, should also have a proportionally smaller unemployment cost.”

The Reserve Bank of Australia has now raised interest rates three times in 2025, completely reversing the easing measures it had put in place the prior year. Those rate hikes came in response to an energy price shock driven by the ongoing war. While headline inflation slowed to 4.0% in May, a more closely watched measure known as trimmed mean inflation actually moved higher, reaching 3.6% — well above the bank’s target range of 2% to 3%.

There are also signs that Australia’s job market is beginning to soften. The unemployment rate climbed to 4.5% in April, marking a four-and-a-half-year high.

Hauser pointed to several notable economic shifts since May, including the possibility that the conflict in the Middle East could be moving toward a resolution. He said lower oil prices resulting from such a development would be a positive sign for inflation.

“By itself, lower global oil prices would be a welcome development, helping to lower and flatten the Phillips curve somewhat,” he said. “But a full resolution is not yet assured and we still have work to do to reduce inflation here in Australia, which remains far too high.”

BEIJING — China’s government is asserting its right to hold people living outside the country legally responsible under a sweeping new ethnic unity law, with a top official defending the measure as both lawful and in keeping with global standards.

The law, which was passed in March and takes effect July 1, was designed to forge a unified national identity among China’s 55 ethnic minority groups — including Tibetans and Uyghurs, communities that have historically pushed back against Chinese authority and, at times, staged protests that turned violent.

A key clause in the legislation states that individuals and organizations operating outside the People’s Republic of China can be held legally accountable if they are found to be undermining “ethnic unity and progress or inciting ethnic separatism.”

The provision has triggered significant concern, especially in Taiwan — which Beijing considers part of China — over fears it could give the Chinese government yet another legal tool to go after Taiwanese citizens it labels as separatists. Human rights organizations have also raised alarms, pointing to China’s past use of Interpol “red notices” as a means of pressuring foreign governments to detain individuals abroad for what critics describe as political offenses.

At a press conference in Beijing focused on the new law, Vice Justice Minister Hu Weilie dismissed what he called distortions of the overseas clause by certain unnamed Western media outlets.

“This provision is based on China’s national conditions, conforms to legal principles, and is consistent with international practice. It is a legitimate, lawful, necessary, and feasible legal provision,” Hu stated.

He further argued that governments around the world routinely use domestic legislation to guard against separatist activity and maintain social order, saying, “Countries around the world all have the right to prevent separatist and destructive activities, and to maintain social solidarity and normal order, through domestic legislation.”

Hu described the overseas provision as targeting illegal conduct through rule-of-law methods, meant to “guard against various unlawful acts involving ethnic affairs from outside the country.”

He added that enforcing the clause would protect China’s sovereignty, national security, and development interests, while also safeguarding the rights of people across all of China’s ethnic groups.

“It will not affect normal people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries, academic discussions, economic and trade cooperation, or other activities,” Hu said.

CAIRO — Concern is mounting across the international community over a potential large-scale attack on civilians in central Sudan, where a paramilitary force is gathering around a strategically vital city of approximately 500,000 people as the country’s ongoing war enters its fourth year.

A spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued a stark warning, saying: “We must not allow the horrors of El Fasher to be repeated in El Obeid.”

That warning references a devastating assault last year in which the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, seized el-Fasher, resulting in more than 6,000 deaths over just three days — an attack that U.N. experts said carried the “hallmarks of genocide.”

The U.N. Security Council has expressed alarm over reports of “substantial” RSF reinforcements building up around el-Obeid in North Kordofan. The United States, Britain, and several other European nations have also issued warnings about “escalating atrocity risks” in the region. The RSF did not respond to requests for comment.

El-Obeid sits along Sudan’s main east-west road connecting to the Nile Valley and the capital, Khartoum, making it a critical asset for Sudan’s military as it continues battling the RSF. The army broke a siege on the city that had lasted more than a year, doing so early last year. The city is also home to a large air base and an infantry division.

Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health, explained the broader significance of the situation. “El Obeid is important beyond even the strategic implications because it shows what happens when you have two forces that are highly depleted attempting to gain advantage on the other in high proximity,” he said.

Raymond noted that the RSF is seeking to control the road to Khartoum — which Sudan’s military recaptured last year — along with the neighboring city of Omdurman. Regaining that territory would create “havoc for civilians” and severely complicate the work of humanitarian organizations trying to return to the capital area, he said.

Experts say a potential assault on el-Obeid would differ from the attack on el-Fasher, which followed an 18-month siege and involved widespread ethnically motivated killings. “This is not a genocidal move, it’s a tactical one,” Raymond said, though he cautioned that those perceived as aligned with the military could face reprisal killings if the RSF were to take the city.

Ali Mahmoud Ali, a Sudan researcher with the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, known as ACLED, said the RSF has the ability to cut off el-Obeid from multiple directions, but maintaining a prolonged siege would drain the paramilitary group of significant manpower, vehicles, and equipment. If the RSF does manage to capture and hold the city, he warned the situation there “could deteriorate rapidly.”

In recent months, el-Obeid has been subjected to repeated RSF drone strikes that have destroyed civilian infrastructure, including power facilities and residential neighborhoods. The U.N. reports that bridges and key supply routes into the city have also been targeted.

Taghreed al-Rashid, a 35-year-old resident reached by phone, said she takes some comfort in the presence of army forces but is increasingly frightened by drone attacks hitting homes and markets. A recent strike on a power facility triggered a water shortage so severe that she now pays $5 per barrel of water. “We’re committed to staying in the city despite our ongoing hardships because forced displacement is a bigger struggle,” she said.

The toll from these drone attacks has been severe across the broader Kordofan region. According to ACLED, at least 2,670 people — both civilians and combatants — were killed in 2025, representing a 600% increase in drone-related deaths and an 81% rise in drone attacks compared to the previous year.

Another el-Obeid resident, Magdy Abdou, said daily life — including visits to mosques and markets — remains manageable for now, but he is deeply worried about further strikes on critical infrastructure.

Capturing the city would give the RSF a base from which to launch drone attacks at a much closer range. Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the U.N. human rights office, described the humanitarian conditions as dire. “Many civilians are trapped. Those who are able to flee are doing so. The imminent offensive must be halted, and civilians enabled to safely leave the city,” she said, adding that recent infrastructure attacks have left residents with scarce food, fuel, water, health services, and transportation.

Raymond said the RSF’s “force strength is significantly reduced due to defenses and intertribal fighting” and that it lacks the personnel needed to withstand an expected military counterattack. Nevertheless, Ali noted that the RSF has deployed air defense systems in Abu Zabad, West Kordofan, which could serve as a logistical hub for operations targeting el-Obeid and the nearby city of Dilling, potentially intensifying the conflict.

Since the army broke the siege on el-Obeid last year, the RSF has launched multiple offensives trying to reestablish control from various directions. Sudan’s army, which also operates drones, said recent strikes destroyed an RSF battalion and more than 50 armored vehicles in West Kordofan, blocking advances toward North Kordofan and el-Obeid. An army official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the military has a plan in place to protect the city’s airspace from RSF drone attacks.

Federico Donelli, an associate professor of international relations at the University of Trieste, said the army has made defending el-Obeid and the east-west corridor to the Nile Valley a priority since last year. “Overall, the SAF appears capable of mounting an organized initial defense, but the key open question is whether it can sustain it against a faster, better-equipped RSF push,” Donelli said.

The leader of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency made his strongest statement yet Wednesday, confirming that his inspectors would be visiting Iranian nuclear enrichment sites — a central piece of the interim agreement struck between the United States and Iran.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi made the remarks at a news conference held at the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, signaling that the IAEA’s role in the deal is non-negotiable.

Ever since Israel launched a 12-day war against Iran in 2025, Tehran has blocked IAEA inspectors from accessing enrichment sites where the Islamic Republic is believed to have stockpiled enough highly enriched uranium to potentially construct as many as 10 nuclear weapons, if it chose to pursue them. Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, though it remains the only nation on Earth to have enriched uranium to 60% purity without having a weapons program.

On Tuesday, the U.S. and Iran offered conflicting accounts of whether those enrichment sites would be subject to inspections under the new deal.

Grossi addressed that tension directly, telling reporters: “I can understand political statements, they are part of the reality, but the fundamental thing I would like to remind you and draw your attention to is that there has been a Memorandum of Understanding, signed by both presidents.”

He said the agreement “says explicitly that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out with the regards to the nuclear material facilities will be supervised by the IAEA — in all letters.”

Grossi left no room for ambiguity about what comes next: “Obviously, to do that, we will have to inspect. Whether this happens the day after tomorrow or in one week or in 10 days, it’s important, but not essential. This is going to happen.”

Those inspections are a critical element of the deal, which requires Iran’s uranium stockpile to be “downblended” — reduced from its current highly enriched state.

Iran did not immediately respond to Grossi’s comments. A day earlier, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that U.N. inspectors were not on schedule to examine nuclear facilities that were bombed by the United States last year. Those remarks came in direct contrast to statements made by U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

While the IAEA has been permitted to visit some Iranian nuclear facilities since the 12-day war — including the Bushehr nuclear power plant — it has been shut out of the enrichment sites. Without that access, the agency says it cannot confirm the current status of Iran’s uranium stockpile or assess the centrifuge systems used for enrichment. Both Iran and the IAEA say Tehran has not been actively enriching uranium, but experts in nuclear nonproliferation have raised concerns that Iran may be relocating its stockpile to undisclosed locations.

The U.S. and Iran reached their agreement last week, under which Tehran would dilute its enriched uranium stockpile. In return, U.S.-backed sanctions on Iran would be waived, and both sides would have 60 days to work toward a broader, more comprehensive agreement.

The fragile ceasefire has already faced strain, however, with Iran announcing it closed a key strait again following renewed fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon. Violence flared again in Lebanon on Tuesday, though it did not escalate further.

JDEIDAT MARJAYOUN, Lebanon — Standing on a friend’s balcony, Milia el-Cheikh strained to make out what remained of her home village among the rubble below — its entrances now sealed off with coils of barbed wire.

Her village, Dibbine, is among several communities in southern Lebanon with Shiite majorities that have been destroyed by Israeli forces engaged in combat against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Israel has taken control of large swaths of territory, and fighting has continued even through declared ceasefires. The most recent truce — established as part of an interim peace agreement between the United States and Iran — appears to be holding for now.

El-Cheikh, one of the few Christians who called Dibbine home, found temporary shelter in a nearby village. She regularly makes her way to Jdeidat Marjayoun — a predominantly Christian village adjacent to her hometown — to share coffee with a church friend. What was once a comforting routine now unfolds against a landscape of destruction and dread.

“I don’t know anything about my house,” she said. “Nothing is more agonizing than not being able to get to your home.”

Jdeidat Marjayoun is one of several towns and villages that the Associated Press visited along the uncertain boundary of Israel’s occupied zone in southern Lebanon. Israeli forces have pushed out the largely Shiite population from many areas, believing those communities shelter Hezbollah fighters, and numerous towns have been leveled.

Residents of neighboring Christian, Sunni, and Druze communities have been permitted to remain, but the conflict has upended their lives. Their homes have been struck, road closures have cut them off from the rest of Lebanon, and Israeli military raids in the night have left residents shaken.

Israeli warnings against sheltering Hezbollah fighters have effectively prevented these communities from taking in displaced Shiite neighbors, creating a rift between people who have lived side by side for generations and inflaming political and sectarian tensions.

The current round of fighting began when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in the days following an Israeli and U.S. military campaign against Iran that started on February 28. Israel subsequently invaded Lebanon and has extended its zone of control as deep as 12 kilometers — roughly 7 miles — in some areas.

As Israeli forces moved forward, they warned civilians to evacuate large portions of southern Lebanon. In April, Israel released a list of 53 towns and villages — the majority of them Shiite — where residents are prohibited from returning. On Thursday, eight additional predominantly Shiite villages were added to that list.

Israel maintains that its troops are stationed in southern Lebanon for defensive purposes, asserting that Hezbollah was deeply embedded in the region. The military has released videos it says show tunnels and military infrastructure hidden within civilian neighborhoods.

Iran has stated that any broader ceasefire agreement must include Lebanon and that Israel must pull back its forces. Hezbollah has declared it will resist the occupation, and Lebanon’s government has also demanded an Israeli withdrawal.

Mixed communities perched on hills and nestled in valleys among orchards and olive groves sit within view of the devastation that has befallen their neighbors. Residents there have pledged to stay put.

The Shiite town of Khiam — now a flattened white expanse of destroyed buildings under Israeli control — is visible from the Christian village of Qlayaa.

Qlayaa’s residents are essentially cut off from their olive groves in the valley below. “Now another season is lost,” said Hanna Daher, the mayor of Qlayaa.

A priest in Qlayaa was killed by shelling while he was inspecting the site of an earlier strike. A father and his two children were killed in a drone attack while driving toward the village. Israel says it targets only militants.

In Jdeidat Marjayoun, a house was bombed on the suspicion that militants were using it. Rockets — believed to have been fired by Hezbollah — damaged the dome of a church. In other locations, solar panels, electrical transmitters, and water facilities have been struck.

El-Cheikh fled Dibbine with her neighbors in early March after Israel issued warnings to evacuate. In late May, after weeks of sustained fighting, Israeli forces raided Dibbine before pulling out in early June.

While the fighting raged, el-Cheikh’s friend Lolitta Costantine sheltered with her husband in their home in Jdeidat Marjayoun, at one point moving in with neighbors. The walls of her home now bear cracks from nearby explosions. Windows were blown out and doors knocked off their frames. She has kept a piece of shrapnel as a reminder of what she endured.

“We didn’t know where the danger was coming from,” Costantine said.

Shiites seeking refuge from the fighting have been turned away by residents who fear Israeli airstrikes or forced evacuation, worsening tensions that had largely been dormant since Lebanon’s civil war, which lasted from 1975 to 1990.

When one Qlayaa resident allowed a friend from a Shiite village to stay on his orchard property, his house was bombed, according to Mayor Daher. Other residents have asked Shiites seeking safety to move on.

“We told them, we don’t want problems for you or for us,” Daher said.

Israel has warned the municipality of Jdeidat Marjayoun not to allow displaced people from neighboring villages to enter, saying doing so could endanger the town or lead to a forced evacuation, according to a post from the municipality on social media.

“We were forced to ask some to leave the town,” said the parish priest, Father Philip Habib Okla. “It caused many disagreements and tension. We are counting on faith to remain united.”

The Israeli military said it has cautioned people in parts of southern Lebanon not to allow Hezbollah to operate within their villages, saying the militant group uses civilian areas as cover, putting residents in danger.

During Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon from 1982 to 2000, the area was a stronghold for the South Lebanon Army, a mostly Christian militia that cooperated with Israeli forces. When Israel withdrew, some militia members fled to Israel while others faced prosecution in Lebanon, where they were broadly regarded as collaborators.

Some current residents worry they will be unfairly labeled as collaborators simply for remaining in their homes. Few are willing to speak openly about the tensions, afraid of retaliation from either Israel or Hezbollah.

At a church visited by the AP, a man cried out in frustration that suspicion had spread throughout the community — even among Christians themselves. He placed blame on Hezbollah for drawing Lebanon into the conflict, saying the group had made a grave error.

Late one night in March, Israeli forces surrounded a building in the predominantly Sunni village of Halta. They broke in and arrested a man named Chadi Abdel-Al, who cried out “my heart” as he was beaten and dragged into a vehicle, according to his mother, Ayesha al-Qaderi, who lives in the same building.

In the chaos, a 15-year-old relative named Mohammad Abdel-Al ran through the darkness in his pajamas toward the house, according to his grandfather, Hatem. Israeli soldiers shot and killed him. A neighbor who had stepped out onto his balcony was wounded in the incident.

The Israeli military said it had detained the leader of a local militant organization.

In a separate incident, Israeli soldiers detained three farmers from Halta during a raid on a nearby village.

They are among at least eight people detained by Israeli troops since March, according to Lebanese media reports. The Israeli military has said those detained were suspected of involvement in militant activities and in plots targeting its forces.

“We still don’t know why they kidnapped them. Maybe to instill fear in the village and to send a message that they see everyone,” said Issa Abdel-Al, the community’s leader. “It has become like the West Bank here,” he added, drawing a comparison to the occupied Palestinian territory.

Al-Qaderi, who has received no information about her son since he was taken away, said simply: “I just want to know his fate.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is heading to the White House this Wednesday for a face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump, looking to cool rising tensions between the U.S. and its allies before a high-stakes NATO summit next month in Ankara.

Trump, who has long been critical of NATO — at one point calling it a “paper tiger” — has grown increasingly frustrated with the alliance’s refusal to back American military action in the Middle East. He has also been angered by NATO’s failure to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil shipping route that was disrupted following a U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran on February 28.

Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sharply criticized what he called “free-riding” allies during a NATO gathering and announced a six-month review of U.S. troop deployments across Europe — a process that could lead to reductions in American forces stationed there. That came on the heels of a U.S. decision to scale back the military resources it makes available to the alliance during crises, leaving NATO members scrambling to cover the shortfall.

Managing Trump’s rocky relationship with NATO has been a central part of Rutte’s job since Trump’s election in November 2024. He has repeatedly worked to prevent flashpoints — including Trump’s push to take control of Greenland, a territory belonging to fellow NATO member Denmark — from turning into full-blown crises, earning him a reputation as a so-called “Trump whisperer.”

Wednesday’s meeting is expected to follow that same careful diplomatic approach.

Stephen Wertheim, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington-based think tank, offered his take on what Rutte is trying to accomplish. “I expect he is trying to get on the same page with Trump to make sure that the NATO summit is a success or not a wipeout,” Wertheim said.

Wertheim also cautioned that the summit itself carries real dangers. “The NATO summit carries a potential for significant risk because Trump is upset and erratic, and even if Rutte comes and thinks he has an understanding with Trump, who knows what two weeks later will bring,” he said.

The relationship between Trump and NATO allies has deteriorated in recent months. After the alliance declined to support Trump’s Iran military campaign — which he launched without first consulting allies — Trump publicly questioned whether the U.S. should remain bound by NATO’s mutual defense commitment and suggested he might pull out of the alliance altogether.

In a Tuesday interview on Fox News, Rutte pushed back on the idea that NATO members broadly blocked U.S. military operations, calling such incidents “isolated.” He noted that hundreds of American aircraft flew out of U.S. bases across Europe in support of Washington’s military campaign — a point he said he plans to bring up with Trump on Wednesday.

“We will also zoom out from this to this bigger picture of what he is doing for NATO,” Rutte said, adding that member nations have been boosting their defense budgets and that he would be unveiling what he described as “huge” spending figures during Wednesday’s meeting.

NATO spokesperson Allison Hart confirmed that Rutte’s White House visit is part of the final preparations for the July 7-8 Ankara summit. Hart said the gathering “will focus on how Allies are delivering on the commitments made last year at the NATO Summit in The Hague, including on increasing defense investment, expanding defense industrial production, and continuing support for Ukraine.”

The NATO alliance is under extraordinary pressure, with several European nations worried that Washington could withdraw entirely — a move that would fundamentally reshape the future of the alliance. Trump has previously threatened to do exactly that.

During Rutte’s visit, he is also expected to meet with members of Congress. The trip comes as U.S. officials have expressed concern about what they see as an “unhealthy co-dependence” by European nations on American military forces.

Despite the tensions, Rutte has maintained solid working relationships with Pentagon leadership. Hegseth spoke positively about Rutte’s leadership during last week’s NATO meeting in Brussels.

At last year’s summit in The Hague, NATO leaders agreed to Trump’s demand for a major boost in defense spending, pledging to dedicate 5% of their GDP to defense and defense-related measures within a decade. However, while some European countries have significantly ramped up their military budgets, others have been slow to follow through.

When most people imagine a prison, they think of metal bars, locked doors and stripped-away freedom. But visitors to a correctional facility in Johannesburg — South Africa’s largest city — are met with something far different: an art gallery.

The display of work created by incarcerated individuals is part of a broader national push to lower reoffending rates through rehabilitation efforts inside the country’s prisons. Since 2023, the Department of Correctional Services has launched nine arts-and-crafts galleries at facilities across the country, with the goal of helping inmates build skills, generate income and prepare themselves for life once they’re released.

At Leeuwkop Correctional Facility, artwork made by 34 inmates is on view for the public, offering a window into stories of culture, personal memory and transformation — all within a country that struggles with one of the highest crime rates in the world. Inmates also have the opportunity to view one another’s creations.

“I get a peaceful and healed mindset when I do my art,” inmate Freddy Mongkoai told the Associated Press. “It encourages me to be strong and present. I can focus, so it gives me peace of mind.”

Mongkoai, 51, has been serving nearly two years of a 12-year murder sentence connected to an act described as vigilante justice. He joined the prison’s art program in October and has since explored both painting and papier-mâché sculpture. His most recent creation is a replica of the FIFA World Cup trophy.

Estimates of how often released offenders return to crime in South Africa vary widely depending on how recidivism is measured, with some figures reaching as high as 95%.

South African prisons are well known for serious violence problems tied to overcrowding, gang activity, underfunding and administrative shortcomings. Correctional officials say repeat offenders are a major driver of that overcrowding.

With that reality in mind, the correctional department argues that initiatives like the arts program can play a meaningful role in breaking the cycle of reoffending.

“As they leave here to serve parole and finish their sentences, this is the most effective way of making it a point that they don’t do crime again,” said Makgothi Thobakgale, national commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services.

The gallery at Leeuwkop reflects a wide range of artistic experience and personal backgrounds. Works on display include Mongkoai’s detailed grayscale portrait of a woman balancing firewood on her head while carrying a baby on her back, as well as a simple pencil sketch bearing the words “STOP GBV” — a reference to South Africa’s deeply troubling levels of gender-based violence.

Mongkoai said the portrait is among his favorites because it draws from a childhood story he grew up hearing in Limpopo province — a piece of folklore about a woman said to live on the moon.

“The elders would tell us that there is a woman carrying firewood on her head and a baby on her back, while being followed by a dog, on the moon,” he said. “That is my favorite because it reminds me of my childhood.”

According to Unathi Mahlati, a senior program officer at Just Detention International-South Africa — which has partnered with the correctional department on the program since 2024 — inmates frequently gravitate toward themes of home and family in their work.

Mahlati explained that the program is designed to be therapeutic in nature, though it differs from formal art therapy, which is clinical and led by a licensed physician. Participation is entirely voluntary, and the emphasis is on helping inmates process their thoughts, feelings and personal needs — not on developing artistic talent.

“A lot of them have experienced a lot of trauma before coming into the facilities, but there’s not a lot of services for them to process and metabolize that trauma,” Mahlati said. “We emphasize that it’s not about skill. It’s a creative expression to process trauma.”

She also noted that correctional environments tend to be “very rigid and very dogmatic,” adding, “So we give people a chance to just be.”

Artwork created through the program is made available for public purchase, with prices ranging from roughly 50 rand (about $3) to more than 2,000 rand (over $120), depending on the size and complexity of each piece.

Officials say the money raised goes back into restocking art supplies and providing small stipends to participating inmates, who traditionally earn money through work in places like orchards and dairy farms, or through training programs that produce furniture, uniforms and baked goods.

Inmate artwork is also regularly featured at major South African events, including the Comrades Marathon Expo and the National Arts Festival in Makhanda, broadening the reach of the inmates’ creative work.

“For them to also see that this can be a way of living, it helps because now they are able to manage their own finances, albeit at a small scale,” Commissioner Thobakgale said.

For Mongkoai, the vision extends well beyond his time behind bars.

“My dream is to have my own gallery,” he said.

TAIPEI — Taiwan’s top defense official says the island’s military must be prepared to respond instantly to an outbreak of war, as the amount of advance warning before a potential Chinese attack continues to shrink.

This week, Taiwan is carrying out five days of “immediate combat readiness” drills. The military has begun structuring some exercises around a scenario in which China abruptly converts one of its routine operations near the island into an actual assault.

Defense Minister Wellington Koo addressed reporters in parliament on Wednesday, explaining that the drills place a heavier focus on speed and the ability to quickly shift into a wartime footing.

“It is intended to build the speed we believe is necessary for converting from peacetime to wartime status,” Koo said.

He continued: “In other words, given the current threat situation from the enemy, and as we believe the warning time is shortening, we need to verify that we can respond immediately.”

Koo also noted that the exercises are testing whether Taiwan’s armed forces can operate effectively under a decentralized regional command structure.

China considers Taiwan, which is democratically governed, to be part of its own territory. Chinese military forces conduct operations near the island on a near-daily basis. On Tuesday, China’s newest aircraft carrier passed through the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan has held several military drills this month, including tests of its U.S.-manufactured HIMARS rocket system — the same system widely used in Ukraine — firing into the Taiwan Strait. The island’s major annual military exercises, known as Han Kuang, are scheduled for August.

From Beijing, Zhang Han, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, condemned the drills on Wednesday, saying they revealed the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s “malicious intent to seek independence by force.”

“In the face of the powerful people’s army, the DPP authorities’ posturing is completely futile; it will only harm and destroy Taiwan and bring about their own destruction,” Zhang said.

Zhang also reiterated Beijing’s stated preference for “peaceful reunification” while drawing a firm line: “However, we will never pledge to renounce the use of force, and we will never leave any room for separatist activities seeking Taiwan independence in any form.”

China last conducted large-scale war games around Taiwan in late December.

Sevastopol, the largest city in Russian-annexed Crimea, lost power Wednesday after Ukraine carried out strikes targeting energy facilities in the area, according to Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor installed by Russia to lead the city.

Razvozhayev announced on Telegram that defense systems had intercepted and shot down nine drones over Sevastopol earlier in the day.

In a separate development, Russian forces shelled the eastern Ukrainian city of Balakliia on Wednesday, and local officials reported via Telegram that the attack claimed one life.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm the details surrounding these latest military strikes.