Tag

Slider

Browsing

A large wildfire tearing through the Greek island of Rhodes forced thousands of tourists to flee their hotels in what Greek officials said was the largest evacuation effort in the country’s history.

Those caught up in the blaze described chaotic and frightening scenes, with some having to leave on foot or find their own transport after being told to leave.

The wildfire in the central and south part of Rhodes – a hugely popular island for holidaymakers – has been burning since Tuesday. It is the largest of a number of blazes in Greece, which is sweltering due to a heat wave that experts say is likely to become the country’s longest on record.

Amy Leyden, a British tourist in Rhodes, said she was told to leave her hotel immediately or her and her family “would not make it.”

“It was just terrifying,” she told Sky News. “We’ve got our 11-year-old daughter with us and we were walking down the road at two o’clock in the morning and the fire was catching up with us.”

Cedric Guisset, a Belgian tourist, fled Saturday with nowhere to go. “We told the hotel about the messages we had received on our phones to evacuate the area, but they didn’t even know about it,” he told public radio station RTBF.

“We really just took our identity cards, water and something to cover our faces and heads.”

The Greek government said nearly 19,000 people had been evacuated on Rhodes since Saturday.

The government called the operation “the largest such effort Greece has ever seen,” and said 16,000 people, including tourists and residents, were transported by land and 3,000 by sea.

According to the local fire service, there are currently three active fronts firefighters are focusing on in the central and south part of the island.

The blaze is burning near the areas of Kiotari and Lardos, not far from the Lindos archaeological site. The site has not been threatened so far.

Hotels, schools, sports centers and conference centers have been activated in safe parts of the island to host evacuees in need.

Greece’s foreign ministry will set up a dedicated helpdesk to assist tourists on their return to their respective countries, according to the Greek government. Tour operators have additionally ordered charter flights to land in Rhodes without passengers “in order to pick up travelers who wish to leave the island,” it said.

Eight people have been taken to hospital with respiratory problems, according to fire officials.

British airline Jet2 canceled all flights and holiday offers to Rhodes on Sunday. Holiday group TUI has also canceled all holiday packages to the Greek island up to and including on Tuesday due to the ongoing wildfires, both companies have said in statements.

Record heat wave predicted

According to the Greek Ministry of Civil Protection, 13 departments, including the Attica region where the capital city of Athens is located, were under red alert for wildfires Sunday, which is the highest state of alarm due to the extreme risk of fire.

In Athens, visiting hours for the Acropolis and other archaeological sites have been revised due to soaring temperatures. Staff at some sites are on strike to protest working conditions.

The longest continuous heatwave that Greece has faced was 12 days long, back in July 1987, Lagouvardos said.

Lagouvardos said temperatures in Athens this summer could possibly break the city’s all-time record, which was set in June 2007, when Athens registered 44.8 degrees Celsius (112.64 degrees Fahrenheit).

Large parts of the northern hemisphere have seen fierce temperatures, with Europe seeing dramatic shifts from one form of extreme weather to another.

Italy’s northern region of Veneto was pounded with tennis-ball sized hail overnight on Wednesday, injuring at least 110 people. Emergency services responded to more than 500 calls for help due to damage to property and personal injuries, the Veneto regional civil protection said.

The country also experienced record-breaking heat, with capital Rome hitting a new high temperature of 41 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. Earlier in the year the country was hit by devastating floods.

Scientists are warning that the extreme weather may only be a preview of what’s to come as the planet warms.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

At least 31 people have been killed in devastating flash floods that hit parts of Afghanistan over the weekend, authorities said Sunday.

In a press conference from Kabul, Shafiullah Rahimi, spokesman for Taliban’s Ministry of Disaster Management, added that 74 people are injured and at least 41 remain missing.

Flash floods caused by heavy seasonal rain in seven of Afghanistan’s provinces have partially or completely damaged 606 residential houses, as well as hundreds of acres of agriculture lands, Rahimi said.

“Teams of the ministry along with teams from the ministry of defense, ministry of public welfare, Red Crescent, provinces officials and other officials reached at the scenes of the floods and administered the rescue operations,” he said.

The Taliban’s Ministry of State for Disaster Management also said in a statement on Sunday that since the start of 2023, nearly 100,000 families who have been affected by natural disasters in different provinces have received food and cash aid.

Natural disasters over the past four months have killed at least 214, including the latest known flash flood deaths, it said.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Russian missiles badly damaged a historic Orthodox cathedral in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, sparking outrage and prompting President Zelensky to vow retaliation.

The strikes killed at least one person and injured several others, Ukrainian officials said, the latest in a wave of attacks on Odesa. The attacks also destroyed other historic buildings, Ukraine’s culture ministry said.

The Transfiguration Cathedral is Odesa’s largest church building. It was consecrated in 1809, destroyed during the Soviet era in 1936 before being rebuilt when Ukraine became an independent nation.

The cathedral lies in Odesa’s city center, which UNESCO named a World Heritage Site amid the threat of Russia’s invasion.

Video showed the inside of the cathedral strewn with debris. Ukrainian officials said the icon of the patroness of the city had been retrieved from under the rubble.

Odesa is a key cultural center, and has long links with Russia. It was founded under Catherine the Great and was once Russia’s second most important port.

Ukraine’s Operational Command said on Telegram “dozens of cars were damaged, facades and roofs of many buildings in the city were damaged and windows were blown out” in the strikes.

“Several craters have been formed in the city. There are power outages, which may hamper traffic and the route of public transport may be changed.”

Julia Gorodetska, a Ukrainian journalist who was caught up in the overnight attacks, wrote on her Facebook account that her house was left “shaking and bouncing.”

“It’s loud. Powerful. I’ve jumped up like a mountain goat and ran into the corridor. Nothing hurts anymore, there’s no depression. I desperately want to live,” she said, describing the moment the explosions hit.

The Russian Ministry of Defense denied targeting the cathedral and said it carried out attacks on where “terrorist acts” were being prepared. “All targets scheduled for attack were destroyed,” a statement added.

Ukraine has been struggling in the past week to repel a wave of Russian strikes against Odesa – its air defenses unable to cope with the types of missiles that Moscow has used to pummel the region.

In a statement on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Moscow latest attack.

“Missiles against peaceful cities, against residential buildings, a cathedral… There can be no excuse for Russian evil,” Zelensky said. “As always, this evil will lose and there will definitely be a retaliation to Russian terrorists for Odesa. They will feel this retaliation,” he said.

“I am grateful to everyone who is helping people and to everyone who is with Odesa in their thoughts and emotions. We will get through this. We will restore peace. And for this, we must defeat the Russian evil.”

The EU”s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted that “Russia has already damaged hundreds of cultural sites, trying to destroy Ukraine.”

Elsewhere local military commanders reported at least two deaths following Russian overnight strikes in the Kharkhiv region, among them a 57-year-old woman and 45-year-old man killed in the Dvorichna district by shelling.

“Over the past day, the enemy has been massively shelling settlements in Kharkiv, Chuhuiv, Kupyansk and Izium districts with artillery, mortars and aircraft,” Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv region military administration, said on Telegram.

Civilian industry buildings including at least three houses and outbuildings were also damaged as a result of the attacks on Kupyansk with rocket launchers, cannon artillery and mortars.

“Our defenders are holding their positions in the Kupyansk sector. The enemy has made no progress,” Syniehubov said.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

The Women’s World Cup enters its fourth day of fixtures with some of the tournament heavyweights kicking off their campaigns.

Sweden takes on South Africa, Women’s World Cup debutant Portugal faces the Netherlands and France plays Jamaica in an action-packed day.

Here’s what to look out for as these six teams begin their summer of football.

How to watch

In the US, games will be aired on FOX Sports, while Telemundo will provide Spanish-language coverage.

Seven Network and Optus Sport are broadcasting matches in Australia and the BBC and ITV have the rights in the United Kingdom.

A full breakdown of media rights holders in each country is available on the FIFA website.

Sweden vs South Africa starts at 1 a.m. ET (6 a.m. BST), Netherlands vs Portugal kicks off at 3:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. BST) and France takes on Jamaica at 6 a.m. ET (11 a.m. BST).

Sweden vs South Africa

Sweden comes into its opening group stage game against South Africa as the heavy favorite.

The 2003 runner-up are one of just seven teams to feature in every single Women’s World Cup and has qualified from the group stage in all but one of these campaigns.

In the 2019 Women’s World Cup, Sweden finished third after an impressive tournament, defeating England in the third-place playoff.

Kosovare Asllani, who scored in that victory and was brilliant throughout Euro 2022, will lead her side out against South Africa as captain, and will once again be key if Sweden are to go even better this time around.

However, Sweden is on its worst run of form since November 2019 to March 2020, a rut that will offer South Africa confidence.

Banyana Banyana made its Women’s World Cup debut in 2019, losing all three of its group stage games, but will be buoyed by its form since. In 2022, South Africa won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in the nation’s history.

Netherlands vs Portugal

Portugal is one of the eight teams playing in its first ever Women’s World Cup and faces a tricky test against the Netherlands in the opener.

Netherlands finished as runner-up in 2019 and will be hoping to go just one step further this year, but will be without star player Vivianne Miedema as it attempts to get its hands on the World Cup trophy.

The Oranje’s record goal scorer is just one of a number of players missing the tournament after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in December.

In Miedema’s absence, Lieke Martens will be one of the Netherlands players looking to star and add to the three World Cup goals she has already scored in her career.

Portugal will be looking to capitalize against the Miedema-less Netherlands but has only ever won one game in a major tournament.

France vs Jamaica

France vs Jamaica will see a brilliant battle between the star players of the two teams.

Wendie Renard is a France legend and, after declaring she would not play in the 2023 World Cup to preserve her mental health, the defender reversed her decision after former head coach Corinne Diacre was relieved of her duties.

The Olympique Lyonnais Féminin is also set to become the first French player to play in four World Cup tournaments – possibly alongside fellow veteran Eugénie Le Sommer – during this campaign.

Now coached by Hervé Renard, no relation to Wendie, the French national team will look to their stalwart in defense to help thwart opposition attacks – starting with the threat of Khadija “Bunny” Shaw.

Shaw has been tearing up the Women’s Super League in England for her club Manchester City and will be hoping to transfer her form to the World Cup.

Read more: Bob Marley instilled a love of soccer in his daughter, Cedella. Now she’s changing the lives of women and girls in Jamaica

She finished second in the WSL top scorer charts last season with 20 goals in just 22 games – if The Reggae Girlz are to win their first ever World Cup game, Shaw will have to be at her very best.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

South Africa was denied what would have been a historic draw for the country as Sweden scored a late winner to secure a 2-1 win at the Women’s World Cup.

In the 90th minute in Wellington, New Zealand Amanda Ilestedt found the net for the Swedes to break South African hearts.

It had looked as if South Africa was to earn its first point in Women’s World Cup history.

Hildah Magaia had poked a rebounded ball over the line to give South Africa a 48th-minute lead. It was South Africa’s second goal in tournament history.

The South African goalscorer was later substituted, leaving the pitch in tears after appearing to suffer an injury in the process of scoring.

But in the 66th minute Sweden, semifinalists in the tournament four years ago, leveled. Initially it was deemed an own goal before being awarded to Fridolina Rolfo.

The Swedish team was far from its best but that should not distract from an impressive performance by South Africa, a team ranked 54th in the world and a country that made its Women’s World Cup debut in France 2019.

2019 finalist off to winning ways

Elsewhere, Portugal didn’t look out of place making its Women’s World Cup debut, but ultimately fell to a 1-0 defeat against the Netherlands.

A goal inside the first 15 minutes from Dutch defender Stefanie van der Gragt gave the 2019 World Cup runners-up the initiative as they took complete control of proceedings.

While Portugal toiled for the remainder of the game, the Netherlands’ experience showed.

Despite the defeat, Portugal will feel buoyed by its performance – but will need to improve in the final third to make a mark on the tournament.

The Netherlands will be delighted to have kickstarted its campaign with all three points as the side prepares to take on the imperious USWNT in its next fixture – a repeat of the 2019 final.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

A rare multiple shooting in the center of Auckland just hours before the opening of the Women’s World Cup rattled the city as tens of thousands gathered to watch New Zealand play Norway in the first game of the tournament.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins outlined details of the attack in a hastily called news conference, confirming that three people had died – including the gunman – and several others were injured.

Emergency services rushed to the city’s central business district just after 7 a.m. local time Thursday, after reports that a man armed with a pump action shotgun had opened fire on a construction site, he said.

“He moved through the building site discharging the firearm as he went,” Hipkins said. “Upon reaching the upper levels of the building, the man contained himself in an elevator. Shots were fired, and he was located a short time later.”

News footage showed heavily armed police dressed in body armour and carrying rifles flocking to the scene and cordoning off swathes of the business district.

Hipkins said the actions of the police officers who “ran into the gunfire, straight into harm’s way in order to save the lives of others” were “nothing short of heroic.”

New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said one officer was shot as he attempted to engage the gunman, and four civilians had “moderate to critical injuries.”

Coster said the suspect was under home detention orders but had an exemption to work at the construction site where the shooting took place, and the incident was believed to be related to his work there.

The man had a “family violence history” but there was “nothing to suggest that he has presented a high level risk,” Coster said. He did not have a firearms license, Coster added.

New Zealand Police said the shooting did not pose a national security risk, as officials confirmed the Women’s World Cup opening ceremony and first game would go ahead as planned.

In a statement, FIFA said it extended “its deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims”.

“FIFA has been informed that this was an isolated incident that was not related to football operations and the opening match tonight at Eden Park will proceed as planned,” the statement added.

However plans to show the match on a big screen at a fanzone in downtown Auckland were scrapped “out of deep respect to those who lost their lives,” the mayor’s office and Auckland Council said in a statement. The fan festival will open from midday Friday, the statement added.

Tourism New Zealand also canceled a welcome event scheduled for the opening match because the location is within the area cordoned off by police as they investigate the shooting.

The central business district in Auckland is the commercial heart of the city, a base for blue chip international firms and the gateway to the famous harborside, which is lined with restaurants and bars and home to the main ferry terminal.

Shootings are relatively rare in New Zealand, especially following the introduction of strict gun laws in 2019 after a mass shooting in Christchurch left 50 people dead and led to strict new laws curbing firearms being passed in a matter of days.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown told New Zealand public radio RNZ the shooting was a “dreadful thing to happen in our city at a time when the rest of the world’s watching us over the football.”

New Zealand will face Norway at Eden Park in the opening match on Thursday in one of the world’s biggest sporting events, co-hosted by New Zealand and neighbor Australia.

Players from the United States women’s national soccer team (USWNT) also addressed the shooting at their inaugural press conference.

“Unfortunately in the US I feel like we’ve dealt with this far too many times,” forward Lynn Williams told reporters.

Nisha, who declined having her surname published, said news of the shooting surprised her.

“In places like New Zealand, you just assume a level of sort of safety, right?” she said.

Standing at the edge of the cordon on Quay Street a block away from the ferry pier, 21 year-old Seth Kruger, who is originally from South Africa, expressed shock at the shooting.

“I reckon it’s a pretty rare occurrence for New Zealand, he said. “Moving here, you move here for safety reasons. So pretty weird for this to be happening just down the road from home as well.”

Kruger and his friend David Aguillon were scheduled to work at The Cloud, a multipurpose event space at the Queen’s Wharf along the Auckland waterfront, which is hosting the FIFA Fan Festival throughout the World Cup.

However, with the police continuing to cordon off several key streets, Aguillon said they hadn’t been able to get on site, and it was unclear whether the Fan Festival would be open in time for Monday’s first game.

In a statement, US Soccer said that it “extends its deepest condolences to the families of the victims who were killed in downtown Auckland today.”

In a statement, New Zealand Football said it was “shocked” by the incident. “We can confirm that all of the Football Ferns team and staff are safe but we will not be able to comment further while details are still emerging,” a statement said. “Preparations for the game tonight at Eden Park will continue as planned.”

This post appeared first on cnn.com

A video emerged on Wednesday that appears to show Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin greeting his fighters in Belarus, in what would be his first public appearance since he led an armed rebellion in Russia last month.

“Welcome guys! I am happy to greet you all. Welcome to the Belarusian land! We fought with dignity! We have done a lot for Russia,” a man resembling and sounding like Prigozhin says in the video, which was posted on pro-Wagner Telegram channels on Wednesday and then shared on Prigozhin’s account.

Prigozhin’s rebellion posed one of the biggest challenges to the long rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He played a prominent role in the invasion of Ukraine and since the uprising his whereabouts have been unclear.

In the video, a fighter seemingly addresses the Wagner leader as “Yevgeny Viktorovich,” Prigozhin’s first name and patronymic. The video appears unedited and the metadata on the file, as well as the position of the sun in the footage, suggests it was likely filmed at dusk on July 18.

The Belarusian Hajun Project, an activist monitoring group that tracks military activity in the country, reported on Wednesday that Prigozhin’s plane landed in Machulishchy, on the outskirts of the capital Minsk, in the morning of July 18 and left after midnight on July 19.

In the video, the Wagner leader criticized the Russian Ministry of Defense’s planning and execution of military operations in Ukraine, and suggested that his soldiers would not fight in Ukraine for now.

“What is happening now at the front is a disgrace in which we do not need to participate. We need to wait for the moment when we can prove ourselves fully,” Prigozhin said. “Therefore a decision was taken for us to station here in Belarus for some time. I am sure that during this time we will make the Belarusian army second greatest in the world. And if needed, we will defend them if it comes to it.”

“I want to ask everyone to really pay attention to the fact that Belarusians welcomed us not only as heroes, but also as brothers,” he added.

The Wagner founder goes on to suggest their stay in Belarus could be temporary and calls on his fighters to prepare to travel elsewhere.

“We should prepare, get better and set off on a new journey to Africa,” he said. “Maybe we will return back [to Ukraine] when we will be confident that we will not be asked to make an embarrassment of ourselves and our experience.”

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed to have brokered the deal between Prigozhin and Russian President Vladimir Putin which ended the insurrection. Since then, Lukashenko has invited Wagner forces into Belarus to help train his country’s military.

Satellite imagery taken by Planet Labs early on Wednesday showed hundreds of vehicles, presumably transporting Wagner fighters and equipment, having arrived in the base since Sunday.

The fate of Wagner chief Prigozhin, meanwhile, remained subject to speculation.

The head of Mi6 said Wednesday that Prighozin was alive and at liberty.

He also claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin had no choice but to reach an agreement with the Wagner leader in order to end the short-lived rebellion, saying he “cut a deal to save his skin.”

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Iraqi security forces dispersed hundreds of demonstrators who stormed the main gates of the Swedish embassy in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, in response to police in Stockholm sanctioning another planned burning of the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

Videos posted on social media showed a large number of protesters inside the Swedish embassy’s perimeter as well as black smoke and fire coming from the building.

Several journalists covering the protests were detained by security forces, and at least one was beaten, according to multiple organizations.

“Journalists should be free to report the news without fear of harassment or harm, wherever they are,” Reuters Iraq Bureau Chief Timour Azhari tweeted Thursday. Two detained Reuters journalists were released after several hours, the agency said.

The planned protest in Sweden took place later on Thursday outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm. It was organized by Salwan Momika, an Iraqi national in Sweden who burned a copy of the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm last month during the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Adha, in a solo that sparked outrage in Iraq and around the world.

A Stockholm police spokesperson said there were two people in attendance with a permit for the protest and estimated that another 150 people were present, most of them reporters.

The Swedish police have stressed that they only grant permits for people to hold public gatherings and not for the activities conducted during them, AFP reported.

‘Serious violation’

Swedish and Iraqi authorities exchanged heated words over the protests, as Baghdad threatened to sever diplomatic ties with Stockholm over Quran-burning demonstrations sanctioned by the state.

“Granting permission under the pretext of freedom of expression is viewed as provocative and contrary to international covenants and norms, which emphasize respect for religions and beliefs,” the Iraqi prime minister’s office said.

Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia also publicly condemned the holy book’s desecration in Sweden, with authorities in Tehran and Riyadh summoning Swedish diplomats to express their anger.

Prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr, whose supporters were behind the protests at the Swedish embassy, said that “Sweden’s hostility towards Islam and the holy books by giving permission to burn the Iraqi flag means Sweden doesn’t believe in Iraq.

“It’s on the government to not just express condemnation and denunciation as that shows weakness and complacency,” Sadr said.

However, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry also condemned the attack on the Swedish embassy, calling it part of a concerning pattern of assaults on diplomatic missions.

The Iraqi government held an emergency meeting on Thursday to turn in the arrested individuals arrested in Baghdad to the judiciary, adding that “negligent security officials will be investigated and face appropriate legal measures.”

Swedish authorities too condemned the demonstrations in Baghdad, calling the actions of protesters “completely unacceptable.” Iraq’s charge d’affaires in Stockholm has been summoned, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said on Thursday.

“We condemn all attacks on diplomats and staff from international organizations. Attacks on embassies and diplomats constitute a serious violation of the Vienna Convention. Iraqi authorities have the responsibility to protect diplomatic missions and diplomatic staff,” it said.

Iraq later recalled its chargé d’affaires from the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, and asked the Swedish ambassador in Baghdad to leave the country, an Iraqi government spokesperson said Thursday.

Iraq also suspended Swedish telecom giant Ericsson’s license in the country in response to the demonstration in Stockholm.

“This act does not reflect Ericsson’s core value of respect.”

The European Union echoed Sweden’s condemnation of the attack in Iraq overnight, saying it hoped for a “swift return to normality” in the relations between both countries.

The diplomatic fallout saw the United States “strongly” condemn the attack on Thursday. The US emphasized that freedom of peaceful assembly is vital to democracy, but this violent act was unlawful and unacceptable, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

“Foreign missions should not be targets of violence. We call on the Government of Iraq to honor its international obligations to protect all diplomatic missions in Iraq against any intrusion or damage, as required by international law,” Miller said.

Miguel Moratinos, the high representative of the United Nation’s Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), said the the desecration of sacred religious books is not freedom of expression but rather an expression of contempt and religious hatred.

“The High Representative also condemns the acts of violence and the storming of the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad today,” the statement read.

“He re-iterates that the desecration of sacred religious books and religious sites is a disrespectful and provocative act. Such acts often lead to agitation and incitement to violence. At the same time, he stresses that violence is never an appropriate response to provocation,” the statement added.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

A series of explosions roared through a Russian ammunition storage facility in occupied Crimea on Wednesday, forcing thousands of residents of nearby areas to flee and prompting leaders there to redirect traffic away from a local highway.

Footage showed smoke and flames rolling over the site near Stary Krym in Crimea’s Kirorvsky district, where blasts were heard for at six hours after the initial explosion. The head of Crimea’s parliament said that it could take two days to fully extinguish the blaze, according to Russian state media.

The cause of the blasts has not yet been confirmed. The Russian-backed leader of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said on Telegram that “a fire occurred at a military training ground.” Askenov said residents of four surrounding villages – more than 2,000 people – were being evacuated.

The explosions are the latest in a series of recent incidents to roil Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula illegally seized by Russia in 2014. On Monday, Ukraine claimed responsibility for an attack that damaged part of the bridge linking Crimea to Russia, a vital supply line for Moscow’s invasion and a personal project for President Vladimir Putin.

Kyiv has not commented on Wednesday’s explosions at the Crimea training ground. The pro-Russian Grey Zone Telegram channel claimed that a Ukrainian Storm Shadow missile struck the depot, which could not immediately be confirmed, while a rebel Ukrainian group in Crimea called Atesh celebrated the fire but said it was not responsible.

Putin’s spokesman said he had been briefed on the blasts at the ammunition dump.

‘One of the most horrible nights’

Russia has retaliated against the Ukrainian strike on the bridge by launching a brutal two-day aerial assault on the strategic port city of Odesa in southern Ukraine, damaging key infrastricture and injuring civilians.

The Kremlin’s barrage overnight included Kalibr, Kh-22 and Oniks cruise missiles, and Iran-made Shahed-136/131 UAVs, the Ukrainian Air Force said, adding that it destroyed 14 cruise missiles and 23 drones.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed it targeted military and fuel facilities in Odesa with “high-precision sea and air-based weapons.”

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow deliberately leveled strikes at key “grain deal infrastructure,” after the Kremlin on Monday pulled out of an agreement that allowed grain to be exported by sea from Ukrainian ports otherwise blockaded by Russia.

He said it was the “largest” attempt by Russia to “inflict pain on Odesa” since the invasion began in February 2022, adding that about “a million tons of food” is stored in the ports that were struck on Wednesday.

“Everyone is affected by this Russian terror,” the Ukrainian leader added.

The Ukrainian Agriculture Ministry said the damage, which hit grain export infrastructure in Odesa and the nearby port of Chornomorsk, would take at least a year to fully restore.

“This is a terrorist act not only against Ukraine, but against the whole world. Its food security is once again under threat. Humanity is being held hostage by a terrorist country that is blackmailing the world with hunger,” the Ukrainian Agricultural Minister Mykola Solskyi said in a Wednesday statement.

Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov called the bombardment “one of the most horrible nights” of the war.

“We do not recall such a scale of attack since the beginning of a full-scale invasion,” he said on Facebook.

There were no casualties reported. But the city was shaken by explosions and several people were wounded by a downed Russian missile, including a nine-year-old boy, officials said.

Further east, two civilians were killed and seven others injured by Ukrainian shelling in parts of separatist-controlled areas of the eastern Donetsk region, according to a Russian-backed official.

Several homes, two schools and a hospital were damaged, the head of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, said on Telegram.

Ukraine’s attack on the Crimea bridge dealt a logistical and symbolic blow to Moscow’s faltering military campaign. The bridge is a critical artery for supplying the peninsula with both its daily needs and supplies for the military, in addition to fuel and goods for civilians.

The $3.7 billion-dollar corridor, which is 12 miles long, is a critical artery for supplying the peninsula with both its daily needs and supplies for the Russian military, in addition to fuel and goods for civilians.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Authorities in Mexico say they have arrested a man suspected of intentionally setting a bar on fire after being kicked out, killing 11 people near the Arizona border in the Mexican state of Sonora.

The fire broke out at 1:33 a.m. Saturday at a bar in San Luis Rio Colorado, near the United States border city of San Luis, Arizona, according to a statement from the Sonora Attorney General’s Office.

A 17-year-old and a female American citizen were among those killed, Gustavo Rómulo Salas Chávez, Sonora’s attorney general, said in a news conference Saturday.

Mexican authorities were still trying to confirm if the woman who died also had Mexican citizenship, Chávez said.

The person suspected of starting the fire, who authorities said had “a high degree of intoxication,” threw an object with fire at the drinking establishment’s doors after security staff removed him from the building, according to the statement translated from Spanish.

“According to versions (from) several witnesses, the person with a young, male appearance was disrespecting women in that bar and was expelled,” according to the statement.

The prosecutor’s office described the object thrown at the bar as “a kind of ‘Molotov’ cocktail, which caused the incident.”

The attorney general said Saturday the main suspect is being interrogated.

At least six people were also injured, according to Chávez. One person remains hospitalized, two were discharged and the other three were transferred to US hospitals for treatment.

This post appeared first on cnn.com