Global acute hunger hits new high, 2025 outlook 'bleak': UN-backed report
More than 295 million people faced acute hunger last year -- a new high -- driven by conflict and other crises, with a "bleak" outlook for 2025 as humanitarian aid falters, a U.N.-backed report said Friday.
"Hunger in the 21st century is indefensible. We cannot respond to empty stomachs with empty hands and turned backs," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the report.
AFP
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Nahar Net
13 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Israel-Iran conflict: Latest developments
by Naharnet Newsdesk 15 June 2025, 11:53 Israel and Iran traded fire for a third straight day on Sunday, with rising casualties and expanding targets marking a sharp escalation in the conflict between the longtime adversaries. Overnight Iranian strikes killed at least ten people in Israel, adding to the growing toll in both countries since Friday when Israel launched a massive wave of attacks targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities, sparking retaliation. The exchange of strikes is the first time the arch-enemies have traded fire with such intensity, triggering fears of a prolonged conflict that could engulf the Middle East, even as international leaders urge de-escalation. Here are the latest developments: - Deadly Iranian strikes - Iran unleashed deadly barrages of missiles at Israel overnight Saturday into Sunday, killing at least ten people, including children, and wounding around 200, according to Israeli emergency services. Air raid sirens and booms rang out in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv early Sunday as Israel's military said millions of Israelis were "running for shelter as sirens sound" in dozens of cities and communities around the country. The first wave of Israeli strikes on Iran killed 78 people and wounded 320, according to Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, but Iranian authorities had not provided an updated toll as of early Sunday. Iran also struck sites used by Israeli warplanes for refueling, the Revolutionary Guards said early Sunday. Israel said it had also intercepted seven drones launched towards its territory, as it worked to head off attacks while carrying out further strikes on Iran. Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels on Sunday said they had launched several missiles at Israel. - Israel expands targets - After targeting Iranian military and nuclear facilities, including killing top brass and scientists, Israel expanded targets to air defenses and oil infrastructure. Israeli strikes hit two fuel depots in Tehran, the Iranian oil ministry said Sunday, with AFP journalists reporting seeing fire at the oil depots in Shahran northwest of the Iranian capital. On Saturday, Israel's military said it was attacking dozens of missile launchers in Iran after announcing it had targeted air defenses with a wave of strikes in the Tehran area. Iranian news agency Tasnim reported early Sunday that an Israeli strike had also targeted the country's defense ministry headquarters in Tehran and damaged one of its buildings. The defense ministry did not comment. - Faltering nuclear diplomacy - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Israel had "crossed a new red line" by targeting Iran's nuclear sites, after Tehran on Saturday had pledged to limit its cooperation with the UN's nuclear watchdog, criticizing it for its silence over Israeli strikes. "It is entirely clear that the Israeli regime does not want any agreement on the nuclear issue. It does not want negotiations and does not seek diplomacy," Araghchi told foreign diplomats, saying the attack launched on Friday was an "attempt to undermine diplomacy and derail negotiations". The fiercest ever exchange of fire between the arch foes came amid ongoing talks between Tehran and Washington seeking to reach a deal on Iran's nuclear program. Before the Israeli strikes, the two sides had been set to hold a sixth round of negotiations in Oman on Sunday. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday that Tehran would not attend nuclear talks with the United States so long as Israel kept up its attacks on the Islamic republic. Western governments have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, which it denies. - International unease - Others states have urged restraint and warned against a larger conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed in a phone call on Saturday that the conflict between Iran and Israel "should end." But on Sunday morning, Trump issued a warning to Iran saying it would experience "the full strength" of the US military if it attacks the United States, reiterating that Washington "had nothing to do" with Israel's strikes on Tehran's nuclear and intelligence facilities. Iraq -- a close ally of Tehran, but also a strategic partner of Iran's arch-foe the United States -- has approached the Iranian and U.S. governments in a bid to prevent being caught up in a regional escalation.
Nahar Net
2 days ago
- Nahar Net
Israel and Iran trade airstrikes and missiles in biggest escalation between two foes
Israel targeted Iran's air defenses and missile launchers on Saturday as it pressed its bid to dismantle its arch-foe's military capabilities, after a night of mutual attacks. Israel's massive strikes on Iran, which it calls an existential threat, have hit nuclear and military facilities, killed top commanders and dozens of civilians, and sought to destroy the country's defense capabilities. Iran has hit back with volleys of missiles that lit up the night sky over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, killing three people and wounding dozens. Following decades of enmity and conflict by proxy, it is the first time that Israel and Iran have traded fire with such intensity, with fears of a prolonged conflict engulfing the region. Israel began striking Iran early Friday in an operation it has dubbed "Rising Lion", and has since killed several top Iranian generals including senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guards' air arm. On Saturday, Israel's military said it was striking dozens of missile launchers in Iran after announcing it had targeted air defenses with a wave of strikes in the Tehran area. Two senior Iranian generals have been killed in Israeli strikes, Iranian state television reported Saturday, as Israel kept up its assault. Iran's ambassador to the United Nations said Friday that 78 people had been killed and 320 wounded in the first wave of strikes by Israel. Iran called on its citizens to unite in defense of the country as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged them to rise up against their government. Air raid sirens and explosions rang out across Israel through the night, with many residents holed up in bomb shelters until home defense commanders stood down alerts. - 'Smoke, dust' - Israel said dozens of missiles -- some intercepted -- had been fired in the latest salvos from Iran, with AFP images of the city of Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv showing blown-out buildings, destroyed vehicles and streets strewn with debris. Israeli rescuers said two people were killed and 19 wounded on Saturday by rocket fire on a residential area in the coastal plain. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked dozens of targets in Israel. Israeli firefighters had worked for hours to free people trapped in a high-rise building in Tel Aviv on Friday. Resident Chen Gabizon told AFP he ran to an underground shelter after receiving an alert. "After a few minutes, we just heard a very big explosion, everything was shaking, smoke, dust, everything was all over the place," he said. Rescuers said 34 people were wounded in the Gush Dan area, including a woman who later died of her injuries, according to Israeli media reports. Speaking to CNN, Israel's ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said Iran had fired three salvos of ballistic missiles on Friday, some 150 in total. "We expect that the Iranians, who have a considerable volume of ballistic missiles, somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000, will continue to fire them," Leiter said. In Tehran, fire and heavy smoke billowed over Mehrabad airport early Saturday, an AFP journalist said, as Iranian media reported an explosion. Blasts were heard across the capital as Iran activated its air defenses against the incoming fire. Dozens of Iranians took to the streets to cheer their country's military response, with some waving national flags and chanting anti-Israel slogans. - 'Time to stop' - The attacks prompted several countries in the region to temporarily ground air traffic, though on Saturday morning, Jordan reopened its airspace. Iran's airspace was closed until further notice, state media reported. As fears mounted of wider conflict, UN chief Antonio Guterres called on both sides to cease fire. "Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail," he said on X late Friday. U.S. officials said they were helping Israel defend against the missile attacks, even as Washington insisted it had nothing to do with Israel's strikes on Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in a call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that "dialogue and diplomacy" were needed to calm the crisis, Starmer's office said. Trump also spoke with the Israeli prime minister, U.S. officials said without elaborating. In a televised address, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to bring Israel "to ruin". The conflict has thrown into doubt plans for a fresh round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran in Oman on Sunday. After the first wave of strikes on Friday, Trump urged Iran to "make a deal", adding that Washington was "hoping to get back to the negotiating table". The United States and other Western governments have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, an ambition it has consistently denied. Iran said on Saturday its participation in the Oman talks remained "unclear". "It is still unclear what decision we will make for Sunday," the official IRNA news agency reported, citing foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. Baqaei had called the talks "meaningless" in view of the Israeli strikes, which he alleged were carried out with "U.S. permission".
LBCI
2 days ago
- LBCI
'Enough escalation. Time to stop,' UN chief says after Israel-Iran strikes
The U.N. chief called Friday for Israel and Iran to halt their escalating conflict after the two countries exchanged a barrage of missiles. "Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail," Antonio Guterres said on X after Israel's "preemptive" strikes on Iran and Tehran's counter-attack. AFP
