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Trump says ‘real pain is yet to come’ for Houthis, Iran

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows four B-2 stealth bombers parked at Camp Thunder Cove in Diego Garcia on Saturday, March 29, 2025, as a U.S. airstrike campaign continues against Yemen's Houthi rebels. (AP)
This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows four B-2 stealth bombers parked at Camp Thunder Cove in Diego Garcia on Saturday, March 29, 2025, as a U.S. airstrike campaign continues against Yemen's Houthi rebels. (AP)
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Updated 01 April 2025

Trump says ‘real pain is yet to come’ for Houthis, Iran

Trump says ‘real pain is yet to come’ for Houthis, Iran
  • The Houthis began targeting shipping after the start of the Gaza war, claiming solidarity with Palestinians
  • Trump’s threat comes as his administration battles a scandal over the accidental leaking of a secret text chat by senior security officials on the Yemen strikes

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump vowed Monday that strikes on Yemen’s Houthis will continue until they are no longer a threat to shipping, warning the militia and its Iranian backers of “real pain” to come.
“The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at US ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
Shortly after Trump’s threat, Houthi media said two US strikes Monday hit the island of Kamaran, off the Hodeida coast.
Houthi-held parts of Yemen have faced near daily attacks since the US launched a military offensive on March 15 to stop them threatening vessels in key maritime routes. The first day alone, US officials said they killed senior Houthi leaders, while the militia’s health ministry said 53 people were killed.
Since then, the Houthis have announced the continued targeting of US military ships and Israel.
In his post Monday, Trump added that the Houthis had been “decimated” by “relentless” strikes since March 15, saying that US forces “hit them every day and night — Harder and harder.”
Trump’s threat comes as his administration battles a scandal over the accidental leaking of a secret text chat by senior security officials on the Yemen strikes.
It also comes amid a sharpening of Trump’s rhetoric toward Tehran, with the president threatening that “there will be bombing” if Iran does not reach a deal on its nuclear program.
The Houthis began targeting shipping after the start of the Gaza war, claiming solidarity with Palestinians.
Houthi attacks have prevented ships from passing through the Suez Canal, a vital route that normally carries about 12 percent of world shipping traffic. Ongoing attacks are forcing many companies into a costly detour around the tip of southern Africa.
“Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to Freedom of Navigation,” Trump said.
The rising rhetoric from the Trump administration comes as it copes with the phone text scandal.
The Atlantic magazine revealed last week that its editor — a well-known US journalist — was accidentally included in a chat on the commercially available Signal app where top officials were discussing the Yemen air strikes.
The officials, including Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, discussed details of air strike timings and intelligence — unaware that the highly sensitive information was being simultaneously read by a member of the media.
Trump has rejected calls to sack Waltz or Hegseth and branded the scandal a “witch hunt.”
“This case has been closed here at the White House as far as we are concerned,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday.


UN rapporteur says deadly Israel strikes on vehicles in Lebanon could be war crimes

UN rapporteur says deadly Israel strikes on vehicles in Lebanon could be war crimes
Updated 15 sec ago

UN rapporteur says deadly Israel strikes on vehicles in Lebanon could be war crimes

UN rapporteur says deadly Israel strikes on vehicles in Lebanon could be war crimes
“Unless there is compelling evidence that those civilian objects have dual (military) objectives... the strikes are illegal,” said Tidball-Binz
“The killings resulting from the attacks violate the right to life “

BEIRUT: A United Nations special rapporteur told AFP on Friday that deadly Israeli strikes on ostensibly civilian vehicles in Lebanon since last year’s ceasefire could amount to war crimes, despite Israel’s assertion they targeted Hezbollah members.
Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon in spite of the November 2024 truce, which sought to end more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed militant group that culminated in two months of open war.
The Israeli military usually says it targeted Hezbollah operatives or infrastructure with its strikes, dozens of which have killed people traveling on Lebanese roads in cars and on motorbikes, or occasionally using excavators.
“Unless there is compelling evidence that those civilian objects have dual (military) objectives... the strikes are illegal,” said Morris Tidball-Binz, UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
“The killings resulting from the attacks violate the right to life and also the principles of precaution and proportionality and, in my opinion, also amount to war crimes,” he told AFP in a written statement.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency on Friday reported unspecified casualties in an Israeli strike targeting a car in the country’s south.
And on Thursday, some of the heaviest Israeli raids since the ceasefire hit south Lebanon, with the health ministry saying one person was killed and seven others wounded.
The Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure and facilities used by an NGO under US sanctions that Israel considers a cover for the militant group.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the strikes targeted civilian facilities, condemning a ceasefire violation and “a systematic policy aimed at destroying productive infrastructure” and hindering the country’s recovery.
The south Lebanon water establishment said Friday the raids had completely destroyed its strategic fuel depot.
The stricken facility “contained half a million liters of fuel oil” used to operate electricity generators for water stations and wells, it said in a statement.
At a heavily damaged cement factory, sales manager Ali Khalifeh told AFP that “we are a 100 percent civilian complex.”
He said more than a dozen air strikes hit the site, which “produces asphalt and concrete. It’s one of the biggest asphalt mixers in Lebanon.”
An AFP correspondent overnight saw firefighters battling a huge blaze at the factory.
“We had a huge quantity of liquid tar,” Khalifeh said, adding: “That’s what blew up, in addition to the fuel oil and the diesel” and other fuel.
Last week, Israeli strikes targeted bulldozer and excavator yards in south Lebanon’s Al-Msayleh area, destroying more than 300 pieces of machinery.

Water salinity hurting farmers, livestock in Iraq

Water salinity hurting farmers, livestock in Iraq
Updated 17 October 2025

Water salinity hurting farmers, livestock in Iraq

Water salinity hurting farmers, livestock in Iraq
  • Declining freshwater flows have raised salt and pollution levels, particularly further south where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers converge before spilling into the Gulf
  • Last month, salinity levels recorded in central Basra province soared to around 29,000 parts per million compared to 2,600 ppm last year, according to a report from the ministry

BASRA: Iraqi farmer Umm Ali has watched her poultry die as salinity levels in the country’s south hit record highs, rendering already scarce water unfit for human consumption and killing livestock.
“We used to drink, wash and cook with water from the river, but now it’s hurting us,” said Umm Ali, 40, who lives in the once watery Al-Mashab marshes of southern Iraq’s Basra province.
This season alone, she said brackish water has killed dozens of her ducks and 15 chickens.
“I cried and grieved, I felt as if all my hard work had been wasted,” said the widowed mother of three.
Iraq, a country heavily impacted by climate change, has been ravaged for years by drought and low rainfall.
Declining freshwater flows have raised salt and pollution levels, particularly further south where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers converge before spilling into the Gulf.
“We haven’t seen such high levels of salinity in 89 years,” Iraq’s water ministry spokesman Khaled Shamal said.
Last month, salinity levels recorded in central Basra province soared to around 29,000 parts per million compared to 2,600 ppm last year, according to a report from the ministry.
Freshwater should contain less than 1,000 ppm of dissolved salts, while ocean water salinity levels are around 35,000 ppm, according to the US Geological Survey.

- Dead buffalo -

The Tigris and Euphrates converge at Basra’s Shatt Al-Arab waterway “laden with pollutants accumulated along their course,” said Hasan Al-Khateeb, an expert from Iraq’s University of Kufa.
In recent weeks, the Euphrates has seen its lowest water levels in decades, and Iraq’s artificial lake reserves are at their lowest in recent history.
Khateeb warned that the Shatt Al-Arab’s water levels had plummeted and it was failing to hold back the seawater from the Gulf.
Farmer Zulaykha Hashem, 60, said the water in the area had become very brackish this year, adding that she has to wait for the situation to improve in order to irrigate her crop of pomegranate trees, figs and berries.
According to the United Nations, almost a quarter of women in Basra and nearby provinces work in agriculture.
“We cannot even leave. Where would we go?” Hashem said, in a country where farmers facing drought and rising salinity often find themselves trapped in a cycle of water crisis.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration, which documents climate-induced displacement in Iraq, has warned that increased water salinity is destroying palm groves, citrus trees and other crops.
As of October last year, some 170,000 people were displaced in central and southern Iraq due to climate-related factors, according to the agency.
Water scarcity pushed Maryam Salman, who is in her 30s, to leave nearby Missan province for Basra several years ago, hoping her buffalo could enjoy the Shatt Al-Arab.
Near her house, AFP saw three buffalo skeletons on the parched land, with locals saying the animals had died due to lack of water.
Rising salinity is not the only problem now, said Salman, a mother of three children.=
“Water is not available... neither summer nor winter,” she said.

- Fewer fish -

The Tigris and Euphrates originate in Turkiye, and Iraqi authorities have repeatedly blamed dams across the border for significantly reducing their flows.
Iraq receives less than 35 percent of its allocated share of water from the two rivers, according to authorities, in a country with inefficient water management systems after decades of war and neglect.
Khateeb from the University of Kufa said that in addition to claiming its share of the rivers, Iraq must pursue desalination projects in the Shatt Al-Arab.
In July, the government announced a desalination project in Basra with a capacity of one million cubic meters per day.
Local residents said the brackish water was also impacting fish stocks.
Hamdiyah Mehdi said her husband, who is a fisherman, returns home empty-handed more frequently.
She blamed the Shatt Al-Arab’s “murky and salty water” for his short temper after long days without a catch, and for her children’s persistent rash.
“It has been tough,” said Mehdi, 52, noting the emotional toll on the family as well as on their health and livelihood.
“We take our frustrations out on each other.”


Turkish experts await Israeli go ahead to help recover bodies in Gaza

Turkish experts await Israeli go ahead to help recover bodies in Gaza
Updated 17 October 2025

Turkish experts await Israeli go ahead to help recover bodies in Gaza

Turkish experts await Israeli go ahead to help recover bodies in Gaza
  • A team of Turkish disaster response specialists is stationed at the Egyptian border, awaiting Israeli authorization to enter Gaza and help in search and recovery operations

ANKARA: A team of Turkish disaster response specialists is stationed at the Egyptian border, awaiting Israeli authorization to enter Gaza and help in search and recovery operations, a Turkish official told AFP on Friday.
The 81-member team from Turkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) is equipped with specialized search-and-rescue tools, including life-detection devices and trained search dogs.
They “are currently waiting at the border on the Egyptian side,” the official said.
The group is prepared to locate and recover bodies trapped under rubble.
“It remains unclear when Israel will allow the Turkish team to enter Gaza,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Initially, Israel preferred to work with a Qatari team, but we are hopeful that our delegation will be granted access soon.”
A Hamas source told AFP the Turkish delegation is expected to enter Gaza by Sunday.
AFAD personnel are experienced in operating under extreme conditions, having responded to numerous natural disasters, including the devastating earthquake in southeastern Turkiye in February 2023 which claimed over 53,000 lives.
The Turkish official noted that the Turkish team’s mission includes locating both Palestinian and Israeli bodies, including hostages believed to be buried or hidden in collapsed structures.
However, the task is complicated because some Israeli hostages may have been disguised in local clothing to evade detection by Israeli drones during transfers.
“This situation is expected to complicate search operations and delay progress,” the official said, adding that Hamas is expected to provide location data related to hostages.
Concerns have been raised by some observers over the potential misuse of the Turkish team’s heavy equipment, with fears that it could be repurposed by Hamas to access underground tunnels.


UN says will ‘take some time’ to scale back Gaza famine

UN says will ‘take some time’ to scale back Gaza famine
Updated 17 October 2025

UN says will ‘take some time’ to scale back Gaza famine

UN says will ‘take some time’ to scale back Gaza famine
  • The UN’s World Food Programme said it had been able to move close to 3,000 tons of food supplies into the war-shattered Palestinian territory since the US brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold
  • The spokeswoman said 57 trucks in two convoys, carrying wheat flour and nutrition supplies, crossed in on Thursday and reached WFP’s warehouses intact, ready for distribution

GENEVA: The United Nations cautioned Friday it would take time to reverse the famine in the Gaza Strip, saying all crossings needed to be opened to “flood Gaza with food.”
The UN’s World Food Programme said it had been able to move close to 3,000 tons of food supplies into the war-shattered Palestinian territory since the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold.
“It’s going to take some time to scale back the famine” declared by the UN in late August, WFP spokeswoman Abeer Etefa told a media briefing in Geneva.
“The ceasefire has opened a narrow window of opportunity. WFP is moving very quickly and swiftly to scale up food assistance and reach families who have endured months of blockade, displacement and hunger.”
Etefa said WFP had five food distribution points up and running across the Gaza Strip, mostly in the south, but wanted to get to 145.
She said the WFP had been able to use the Kerem Shalom and Kissufim crossings in recent days.
From Saturday until Wednesday, around 230 trucks with 2,800 tons of food supplies crossed into Gaza, said Etefa.
The spokeswoman said 57 trucks in two convoys, carrying wheat flour and nutrition supplies, crossed in on Thursday and reached WFP’s warehouses intact, ready for distribution.
“We’re still below what we need but we’re getting there,” she said.
As of Wednesday, nine bakeries were running, with WFP working on getting 30 going throughout the Gaza Strip.
“Bread is extremely important. The smell of fresh bread in Gaza is more than nourishment: it’s a signal that life is returning,” said Etefa.
She called for all land crossings into the Palestinian territory to be opened up “so that we can flood Gaza with food supplies.”
“The faster we can move aid in, the more lives we can reach quickly,” she added.
WFP is starting its distribution of nutrition supplies in Gaza City.
“We are trying to push back on famine, especially for families returning home in the north of Gaza,” said Etefa.
WFP’s plan is to scale up to reach 1.6 million people inside Gaza over the next three months.


Hannibal Qaddafi, son of late Libyan leader, ordered released in Lebanon if he pays $11m bail

Hannibal Qaddafi, son of late Libyan leader, ordered released in Lebanon if he pays $11m bail
Updated 17 October 2025

Hannibal Qaddafi, son of late Libyan leader, ordered released in Lebanon if he pays $11m bail

Hannibal Qaddafi, son of late Libyan leader, ordered released in Lebanon if he pays $11m bail
  • Judge Zaher Hamadeh questioned him and later ordered his release once the money is paid
  • Another condition for his release, however, is that he be banned from traveling outside Lebanon for two months

BEIRUT: A Lebanese judge on Friday ordered the release of the son of Libya’s late leader Muammar Qaddafi on condition that he pay $11 million bail.
Hannibal Qaddafi has been imprisoned in Lebanon for a decade without being charged.
The expected release comes after his lawyers have said that he had been ill in his cell at police headquarters in Beirut. Libya in 2023 formally requested his release, citing his deteriorating health after he went on hunger strike to protest his detention without trial.
On Friday, judicial officials said he was taken to the Justice Palace in Beirut, where Judge Zaher Hamadeh questioned him and later ordered his release once the money is paid. Another condition for his release, however, is that he be banned from traveling outside Lebanon for two months.
After the session was over, Qaddafi was taken back to the cell.
Judicial officials in Beirut said Qaddafi’s defense team has filed a case against the Lebanese state in Geneva over holding him without trial, adding that the case is expected to be discussed in Switzerland next month.
One of Qaddafi’s lawyers, Charbel Milad Al-Khoury, told The Associated Press that Qaddafi does not have the money and does not have access to accounts in order to pay the bail. Al-Khoury added that Hannibal Qaddafi’s defense team plan to lodge an appeal on Monday over the $11 million bail and ask that it be abolished.
“This decision is almost impossible to be met,” Al-Khoury said about the bail. “Hannibal has been held for 10 years and it is not logical to release him for $11 million bail.”
Qaddafi has been detained in Lebanon since 2015 after he was abducted by Lebanese militants demanding information on the whereabouts of a prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric. Lebanese police later announced it had picked up Qaddafi from the city of Baalbek, in northeastern Lebanon, where he was being held. He has since been held in a Beirut jail.
Qaddafi had been living in exile in Syria with his Lebanese wife, Aline Skaf, and children until he was abducted and brought to Lebanon.
He has faced questioning over the past years over the 1978 disappearance of Shiite cleric, Moussa Al-Sadr, during a visit to Libya.
The case has been a long-standing sore point in Lebanon. The cleric’s family believes he may still be alive in a Libyan prison, though most Lebanese presume he is dead. He would be 96 years old.
Al-Sadr was the founder of a Shiite political and military group that took part in the long Lebanese civil war that began in 1975, largely pitting Muslims against Christians.
Asked on Friday, about Al-Sadr, Qaddafi responded “I Don’t know” and “I don’t remember,” according to four judicial officials who attended the session. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Muammar Qaddafi was killed by opposition fighters during Libya’s 2011 uprising-turned-civil war, ending his four-decade rule of the North African country.
Hannibal Qaddafi, who was born nearly three years before Al-Sadr disappeared, fled to Algeria after his father was toppled and Tripoli fell to opposition fighters, along with his mother and several other relatives. He later moved to Syria where he was given political asylum and stayed there until he was abducted.
Muammar Qaddafi had eight children from two marriages. Most of them had significant roles in his government. His son Muatassim was killed at the same time as Qaddafi Sr. was captured and slain. Two other sons, Seif Al-Arab and Khamis, were killed in the uprising.
Seif Al-Islam, the one-time heir apparent to his father, has been in Libya since his release from detention there in 2017. Qaddafi’s son Mohammed and daughter Aisha live in Oman. Al-Saadi, a former soccer player, was released from prison in Libya in 2021 after being jailed following repatriation from Niger in 2014, and is believed to be living in Turkiye.