Israel announces new Gaza offensive after launching deadly airstrikes
Israel is launching a new offensive in Gaza called Operation Gideon's Chariots. The move comes after its airstrikes killed more than 140 Palestinians on the third day of a bombing campaign, according to Palestinian health authorities.
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CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Ukraine strikes Crimean bridge, Russia launches deadly strike in Sumy
Social Sharing Senior Ukrainian officials visited Washington on Tuesday seeking U.S. support against Russia, as Kyiv showed its ability to fight on by setting off an explosive device under a bridge that has become a symbol of the Kremlin's claims on Ukrainian territory. A day after talks in Istanbul that made little progress toward ending the war, now in its fourth year, Ukraine's SBU security service said it had hit a road and rail bridge that links Russia and Crimea below the water level with explosives. The extent of any damage was not clear. The bridge is a flagship project for Russian President Vladimir Putin, built after he annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, in a precursor to the latest conflict. Kremlin accuses Ukraine of targeting civilians Kyiv appears determined to show U.S. President Donald Trump that it can still fight on, despite the rising death toll and destruction in the deadliest conflict in Europe since the Second World War. Ukrainian forces also targeted the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region and the Kherson region in the south with shelling, which damaged electricity substations, leaving at least 700,000 people without power, Russia-installed officials said. WATCH | Ukraine says it hit Russia's Crimea bridge: Ukraine says it hit bridge connecting Crimea to Russia 23 minutes ago Duration 0:07 Ukraine's security service says it hit the Kerch Strait Bridge, an important route linking Russia and the Crimean Peninsula. Reuters verified the location of the video released by the security service by matching structural elements of the bridge in the video to satellite and file images, but was not able to independently verify the date. The fresh attacks followed drone strikes over the weekend on Russian military airfields, some of which housed long-range nuclear-capable bombers. Ukraine's success in striking deep into Russia has prompted calls by some Russian military bloggers for a harsh response. Russia's state investigative committee accused Ukraine on Tuesday of carrying out "acts of terrorism" by blowing up two railway bridges in Russia over the weekend. The attacks were planned to target hundreds of civilians, the committee said on Telegram. It said seven people were killed and 113 injured, including children, when two trains crashed in Russia's Kursk and Bryansk regions as a result of the attacks. WATCH l Breaking down the weekend's audacious Ukraine attacks inside Russia: Inside Ukraine's secret deep strike against Russian bombers | About That 15 hours ago Duration 9:49 Ukrainian drones struck deep into enemy territory in Russia, with officials claiming the attack destroyed over 40 Russian warplanes. Andrew Chang explains how Ukraine is believed to have pulled off what it describes as its longest-range attack against Russia, and how it says it was able to do so undetected. Images provided by Getty Images, The Canadian Press and Reuters. Ukraine officials look for support, Russian sanctions Meanwhile, a Russian artillery strike in Sumy on Tuesday killed three people and wounded 25, local officials said. The northeastern city is home to more than 255,000 people and located just 30 kilometres from the Russian border. "Eight of the wounded are in serious condition, and three of them are children," Ukraine's Health Ministry said in a statement. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least one rocket fired from a multiple rocket launcher had failed to detonate and lodged itself in an apartment building. At Monday's talks in Istanbul, Russia told Ukraine it would agree to end the war only if Kyiv gives up big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army. Ukraine rejects the Russian conditions as tantamount to surrender. "The [peace] settlement theme is extremely complex; it consists of a large number of nuances," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, adding "it would be wrong to expect any immediate solutions and breakthroughs here." Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Zelenskyy, was set to visit the White House along with Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's deputy prime minister. Ukraine says Moscow is stalling the peace talks and Yermak signalled that he would press Ukrainian demands for tougher sanctions on Russia. "We will actively promote issues that are important for Ukraine. Our agenda is rather comprehensive," Yermak said via the Telegram app after arriving in Washington. "We plan to talk about defence support and the situation on the battlefield, strengthening sanctions against Russia." Yermak said the officials would also discuss a deal that gives the U.S. preferential access to new Ukrainian mineral projects and sets up an investment fund that could be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Spain cancels contract for anti-tank missiles built by Israeli subsidiary
MADRID (AP) — Spain is cancelling the purchase of anti-tank missile systems that were to be manufactured in Spain by a subsidiary of an Israeli company, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday, confirming Spanish media reports. The decision will affect the purchase of 168 SPIKE LR2 anti-tank missile systems with an estimated value of 285 million euros ($325 million). The systems would have been developed in Spain by Pap Tecnos, a subsidiary of Israel's Rafael Advance Defense Systems, according to local press. The Spanish goverment approved the project on Oct. 3, 2023, four days before an insurgent assault led by Hamas on southern Israel that sparked a devastating war in Gaza. Spain's leftist government says it stopped exporting arms to Israel as of Oct. 2, 2023, but there where reports some shipments slipped through. In May last year, Spain formally recognized a Palestinian state in a coordinated effort with Norway and Ireland. Israel faces legal action at two international courts in The Hague, Netherlands. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. South Africa has filed a case at the top United Nations court, the International Court of Justice, alleging genocide by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel strongly denies the charge. Judges at the International Criminal Court last year issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Joav Gallant. The warrants allege crimes against humanity, claiming they used 'starvation as a method of warfare' in Gaza. Netanyahu said Israel 'rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions' by the court.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Analysis: An outline is emerging of the US offer to Iran in their high-stakes nuclear negotiations
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The outline of the U.S. offer to Iran in their high-stakes negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program is starting to become clearer — but whether any deal is on the horizon remains as cloudy as ever. Reaching a deal is one of the several diplomatic priorities being juggled by U.S. President Donald Trump and his trusted friend and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. An accord could see the United States lift some of its crushing economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for it drastically limiting or ending its enrichment of uranium. But a failure to get a deal could see tensions further spike in a Middle East on edge over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Iran's economy, long ailing, could enter a free fall that could worsen the simmering unrest at home. Israel or the U.S. might carry out long-threatened airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. And Tehran may decide to fully end its cooperation with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog and rush toward a bomb. That makes piecing together the U.S. offer that much more important as the Iranians weigh their response after five rounds of negotiations in Muscat, Oman, and Rome. Possible deal details emerge A report by the news website Axios outlined details of the American proposal, the details of which a U.S. official separately confirmed, include a possible nuclear consortium enriching uranium for Iran and surrounding nations. Whether Iran would have to entirely give up its enrichment program remains unclear, as Axios reported that Iran would be able to enrich uranium up to 3% purity for some time. Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, negotiated under then President Barack Obama, allowed Iran to enrich to 3.67% — enough to fuel a nuclear power plant but far below the threshold of 90% needed for weapons-grade uranium. Iran now enriches up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels. U.S. officials all the way up to Trump repeatedly have said that Iran would have to give up enrichment entirely. The English-language arm of Iranian state television broadcaster Press TV on Tuesday published an extended article including details from the Axios report. Iranian state television long has been controlled by hard-liners within the country's theocracy. Press TV extensively repeating those details suggests that either they are included in the American proposal or they could be elements within it welcomed by hard-liners within the government. Iranian media largely have avoided original reporting on the negotiations, without explanation. Iran's reaction The idea of a consortium enriching uranium for Iran and other nations in the Middle East also have come up in comments by other Iranian officials. Abolfazl Zohrehvand, a member of Iran's powerful parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, said that he understood that one of the American proposals included the full dismantlement of the country's nuclear program in a consortium-style deal. The Americans will 'make a consortium with Saudi Arabia, the (United Arab) Emirates and Qatar … on an island to keep it under U.S. control,' Zohrehvand told the Iranian news website Entekhab. 'Iran could have a certain amount of stake in the consortium, but enrichment would not take place in Iran.' Zohrehvand didn't elaborate on which 'island' would host the site. However, the Persian Gulf has multiple islands. The UAE already has a nuclear power plant, while Saudi Arabia is pursuing its own program. Qatar has said that it's exploring small nuclear reactors. A consortium could allow low-enriched uranium to be supplied to all those countries, while lowering the risk of proliferation by having countries run their own centrifuges. While a consortium deal has been discussed in the past, it has fallen through previously. Now, however, the Gulf Arab states largely have reached a detente with Iran after years of tensions following Trump unilaterally withdrawing the U.S. in 2018 from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers. Meanwhile, Fereidoun Abbasi, a former head of the civilian Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, suggested on Iranian state television that one of Iran's disputed islands with the UAE could be a site for the project. Iran, under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, seized three islands in the Persian Gulf in 1971 as British troops withdrew just before the formation of the Emirates, a federation of seven sheikhdoms home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai. 'What do we need the U.S. for?' Abbasi asked. 'We have the know-how.' What happens next Iran likely will respond to the American offer in the coming days, possibly through Oman, which has been mediating in the talks. There also could be a sixth round of negotiations between the countries, though a time and location for them have yet to be announced. This coming weekend is the Eid al-Adha holiday that marks the end of Islam's Hajj pilgrimage, meaning talks likely wouldn't happen until sometime next week at the earliest. But the pressure is on. Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium could allow it to build multiple nuclear weapons, should Tehran choose to pursue the bomb. Western nations may pursue a censure of Iran at the Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency — which could see them ultimately invoke the so-called snapback of U.N. sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The authority to reestablish those sanctions by the complaint of any member of the original 2015 nuclear deal expires in October. 'There is still time for negotiating an agreement that reduces Iran's proliferation risk. But that time is short,' wrote Kelsey Davenport, the director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. 'Given that Iran is sitting on the threshold of nuclear weapons and officials are openly debating the security value of a nuclear deterrent, any escalatory spiral could kill the negotiating process and increase the risk of conflict.' ___ Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, and Matthew Lee in Washington, contributed to this report. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE — Jon Gambrell, the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press, has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the Middle East and wider world since joining the AP in 2006.
