Iran to present a counter-proposal to US in nuclear talks, foreign ministry says
Iran will soon hand a counter-proposal in nuclear talks to the United States via Oman, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday, in response to a US offer that Tehran deems 'unacceptable.'
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Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Gaza death toll tops 55,000 as calls grow for ceasefire and accountability
In this episode of Global News Today, presented by Tom Burges Watson, we bring you the latest from around the world – with a special focus on the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza. As the death toll surpasses 55,000 since October 2023, we examine the scale of devastation, the international response, and the mounting calls for accountability and an end to conflict to prevent further loss of life. We analyze the remarks of US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, suggesting that Muslim-majority countries could provide land for a future Palestinian state. The comments have sparked intense global debate – we unpack the implications and international fallout. Tom is joined for reaction and analysis with special guest Andrew Gilmour, a former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights who shares his expert insight on the worsening humanitarian crisis. We also speak to Salam Fayyad, former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. Salam Fayyad – Former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority Ambassador Hesham Youssef – Former career diplomat with the Egyptian foreign ministry
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Police detain more than 20 people during Los Angeles protest curfew
LOS ANGELES: Police detained more than 20 people, mostly on curfew violations, on the first night of restrictions in downtown Los Angeles and used crowd-control projectiles to break up hundreds of protesters demonstrating against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, officials said Wednesday. But there were fewer clashes between police and demonstrators than on previous nights, and by daybreak, the downtown streets were bustling with residents walking dogs and commuters clutching coffee cups. Officials said the curfew was necessary to stop vandalism and theft by agitators after five days of protests, which have mostly been concentrated downtown. Demonstrations have also spread to other cities nationwide, including Dallas and Austin in Texas, and Chicago and New York, where thousands rallied and more arrests were made. LA's nightly curfew, which the mayor said would remain in effect as long as necessary, covers a 1-square-mile (2.5-square-kilometer) section that includes an area where protests have occurred since Friday in the sprawling city of 4 million. The city of Los Angeles encompasses roughly 500 square miles (1,295 square kilometers). 'If there are raids that continue, if there are soldiers marching up and down our streets, I would imagine that the curfew will continue,' Mayor Karen Bass said. The tensions in LA and elsewhere emerged as immigration authorities seek to dramatically increase the number of daily arrests across the country. Bass said the raids spread fear across the city at the behest of the White House. 'We started off by hearing the administration wanted to go after violent felons, gang members, drug dealers,' she told a news conference. 'But when you raid Home Depots and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you run armored caravans through our streets, you're not trying to keep anyone safe. You're trying to cause fear and panic.' Referring to the protests, she added: 'If you drive a few blocks outside of downtown, you don't know that anything is happening in the city at all.' Some 2,000 National Guard soldiers are in the city, and about half of them have been protecting federal buildings and agents, said Army Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, head of Task Force 51, which is overseeing the deployment of National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles. About 700 Marines will soon join the Guard troops, but they are still undergoing training and will not be mobilized Wednesday, Sherman said. Another 2,000 Guard troops should be on the streets by Thursday, he said. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has accused Trump of drawing a 'military dragnet' across the nation's second-largest city with his escalating use of the National Guard, which Trump activated, along with the Marines, over the objections of city and state leaders. Newsom asked a court to put an emergency stop to the military helping federal immigration agents. The assistance includes some guardsmen now standing protectively around agents as they carry out arrests. A judge set a hearing for Thursday, giving the administration several days to continue its activities. The change moves the military closer to engaging in law enforcement actions such as deportations, as Trump has promised as part of his immigration crackdown. The Guard has the authority to temporarily detain people who attack officers, but any arrests would be made by law enforcement. The president posted on the Truth Social platform that the city 'would be burning to the ground' if he had not sent in the military. Meanwhile in New York City, police said they took 86 people into custody during protests in lower Manhattan that lasted into Wednesday morning. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the vast majority of demonstrators were peaceful. A 66-year-old woman in Chicago was injured when she was struck by a car during downtown protests Tuesday evening, police said. Video showed a car speeding down a street where people were protesting. In Texas, where police in Austin used chemical irritants to disperse several hundred demonstrators Monday, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's office said Texas National Guard troops were 'on standby' in areas where demonstrations are planned. Guard members were sent to San Antonio, but Police Chief William McManus said he had not been told how many troops were deployed or their role ahead of planned protests Wednesday night and Saturday. Authorities announce arrests in protests Two people accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at police during the LA protests over the weekend face charges that could bring up to 10 years in prison, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. No one was injured by the devices. One of the suspects is a US citizen, and the other overstayed a tourist visa and was in the US illegally, authorities said. 'We are looking at hundreds of people,' US Attorney Bill Essayli said. 'If you took part in these riots and were looking to cause trouble, we will come looking for you.' Trump, Newsom locked in a war of words Trump has called the protesters 'animals' and 'a foreign enemy' and described Los Angeles in dire terms that the governor says is nowhere close to the truth. Newsom called Trump's actions the start of an 'assault' on democracy. 'California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next,' he said. The protests began Friday after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of workers in Los Angeles. Protesters blocked a major freeway and set cars on fire over the weekend, and police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades. Thousands of people have peacefully rallied outside City Hall and hundreds more protested outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held following workplace raids. Despite the protests, immigration enforcement activity has continued throughout the county, with city leaders and community groups reporting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement present at libraries, car washes and Home Depots. School graduations in Los Angeles have increased security over fears of ICE action, and some have offered parents the option to watch on Zoom. Los Angeles police detained 200 people related to the protests throughout the day on Tuesday, including 67 who were occupying a freeway, according to the city's chief. The majority of arrests since the protests began have been for failing to disperse, while a few others were for assault with a deadly weapon, looting and vandalism. At least seven police officers have been injured.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
US reduces the presence of people not deemed essential to work in the Middle East as tensions rise
WASHINGTON: The United States is drawing down the presence of people who are not deemed essential to operations in the Middle East due to the potential for regional unrest, the State Department and military said State Department said it has ordered the departure of all nonessential personnel from the US Embassy in Baghdad based on its latest review and a commitment 'to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad.' The embassy had already been on limited staffing, and the order will not affect a large number of department, however, is also authorizing the departure of nonessential personnel and family members from Bahrain and Kuwait. That gives them an option on whether to leave those Secretary Pete Hegseth also 'has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations' across the region, US Central Command said in a statement. The command 'is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East.'White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly confirmed the moves.'The State Department regularly reviews American personnel abroad, and this decision was made as a result of a recent review,' Kelly in the region have been rising in recent days as talks between the US and Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program appear to have hit an impasse. The talks seek to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions that the US has imposed on the Islamic Republic. Iran insists its nuclear program is next round of talks — the sixth — had been tentatively scheduled for this weekend in Oman, according to two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic matters. However, those officials said Wednesday that it looked increasingly unlikely that the talks would Donald Trump, who has previously threatened to use military force against Iran if negotiations failed, gave a less-than-optimistic view about reaching a deal with Iran, telling the New York Post's 'Pod Force One' podcast that he was 'getting more and more less confident about' a deal.'They seem to be delaying, and I think that's a shame. I'm less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them,' he said in the interview, which was recorded on mission to the UN posted on social media that 'threats of overwhelming force won't change the facts.''Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon, and US militarism only fuels instability,' the Iranian mission Defense Minister Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh separately told journalists Wednesday that he hoped talks with the US would yield results, though Tehran stood ready to respond.'If conflict is imposed on us, the opponent's casualties will certainly be more than ours, and in that case, America must leave the region, because all its bases are within our reach,' he said. 'We have access to them, and we will target all of them in the host countries without hesitation.'Meanwhile, the Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency was potentially set to vote on a measure to censure Iran. That could set in motion an effort to snap back United Nations sanctions on Iran via a measure in Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that's still active until October. Trump withdrew from that deal in his first Wednesday, a statement from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, a Mideast-based effort overseen by the British navy, issued a warning to ships in the region that it 'has been made aware of increased tensions within the region which could lead to an escalation of military activity having a direct impact on mariners.'It urged caution in the Arabian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz. It did not name Iran, though those waterways have seen Iranian ship seizures and attacks in the past.
