Nicaragua breaks ties with UN refugee agency
June 12 (Reuters) - Nicaragua has cut ties with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the U.N.'s refugee agency, the Central American nation's Foreign Ministry said in a letter to the organization on Thursday.
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The Independent
32 minutes ago
- The Independent
Nigerian leader's pardon of executed Ogoni activists draws criticisms
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has posthumously pardoned nine environmental activists executed 30 years ago by the then-ruling military junta, drawing sharp criticism and anger from activists who argued on Friday that the individuals committed no crime. During an event Thursday to mark the 26th anniversary of Nigeria's return to democracy, Tinubu pardoned the 'Ogoni Nine,' including celebrated writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, and described them as 'national heroes.' The men were convicted of murdering four local chiefs and were hanged in 1995 by the then-military regime led by Gen. Sani Abacha. They were part of the Ogoni ethnic group in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, and had protested environmental pollution in the region by multinational oil companies, particularly Shell. Their trial and murder sparked international outrage at the time, with rights groups calling it unjust and lacking credible evidence. Local rights and civil society groups described Tinubu's pardon as misleading and 'insulting.' 'A pardon is given to people who have been convicted of wrongdoing," said Ken Henshaw, executive director of local rights group We The People. Henshaw said the process leading to their execution did not prove that they were guilty of the allegations against them. 'For him (Tinubu) to say he wants to pardon them is a misnomer,' he added. The Nigerian government must also recognize formally that the murdered activists are 'innocent of any crime and fully exonerate them,' said Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International Nigeria's director. 'Full justice for the Ogoni Nine is only a first step," said Sanusi. 'Much more needs to be done to get justice for communities in the Niger Delta, including holding Shell and other oil companies to account for the damage they have done and continue to do.' ____
Belfast Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Israel attacks Iran's nuclear sites and kills top military leaders
It said the barrage was necessary before its adversary got any closer to building an atomic weapon. The operation raised the potential for all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval. Iran quickly retaliated, sending a swarm of drones at Israel as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of 'severe punishment'. Iran had been censured by the UN's atomic watchdog a day earlier for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Israel had long threatened such a strike, and successive US administrations had sought to prevent it, fearing it would ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran's dispersed and hardened nuclear programme. But a confluence of developments triggered by Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack and the election in the US of President Donald Trump created the conditions that allowed Israel to finally follow through on its threats. Israel had told the Trump administration that the large-scale attacks were coming, officials in the US and Israel said. On Wednesday the US pulled some American diplomats from Iraq's capital and offered voluntary evacuations for the families of US troops in the wider Middle East. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content The United States is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to Israel's strikes on Iran and a possible retaliatory attack by Tehran, two US officials said. Countries in the region condemned Israel's attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate de-escalation from both sides. Iran asked for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Israel's military said about 200 aircraft were involved in the initial attack on about 100 targets. Its Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defences and missile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officials. Among the key sites Israel attacked was Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air. It also appeared to strike a second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 60 miles from Tehran, according to an Iranian news outlet close to the government that reported hearing explosions nearby. Israel also said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Israel military spokesman Effie Defrin said the Natanz facility was 'significantly damaged' and that the operation was 'still in the beginning'. Among those killed were three of Iran's top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, General Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard's ballistic missile programme, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Iran confirmed all three deaths, significant blows to its governing theocracy that will complicate efforts to retaliate. Khamenei said other top military officials and scientists were also killed. In its first response, Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel. Israel said the drones were being intercepted outside its airspace, and it was not immediately clear whether any got through. Mr Trump urged Iran to reach a deal with Washington on its nuclear programme, warning on his Truth Social platform that Israel's attacks 'will only get worse'. 'Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire,' he wrote. 'No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.' Israeli leaders cast the attack as necessary to head off an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs, though it remains unclear how close the country is to achieving that or whether Iran had actually been planning a strike. Iran maintains its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. 'This is a clear and present danger to Israel's very survival,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed as he vowed to pursue the attack for as long as necessary to 'remove this threat'. Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East but has never acknowledged having such weapons. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. On Friday, Israelis rushed to supermarkets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere to buy bottled water and other supplies. But, otherwise, streets and parks were mostly deserted. For Mr Netanyahu, the operation distracts attention from Israel's ongoing and increasingly devastating war in Gaza, which is now more than 20 months old. Khamenei said in a statement that Israel 'opened its wicked and blood-stained hand to a crime in our beloved country, revealing its malicious nature more than ever by striking residential centres'. Mr Netanyahu expressed hope the attacks would trigger the downfall of Iran's theocracy, saying his message to the Iranian people was that the fight was not with them, but with the 'brutal dictatorship that has oppressed you for 46 years'. 'I believe that the day of your liberation is near,' he said. US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Israel took 'unilateral action against Iran' and that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defence.
North Wales Chronicle
4 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Israel attacks Iran's nuclear sites and kills top military leaders
It said the barrage was necessary before its adversary got any closer to building an atomic weapon. The operation raised the potential for all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval. Iran quickly retaliated, sending a swarm of drones at Israel as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of 'severe punishment'. Iran had been censured by the UN's atomic watchdog a day earlier for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Israel had long threatened such a strike, and successive US administrations had sought to prevent it, fearing it would ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran's dispersed and hardened nuclear programme. But a confluence of developments triggered by Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack and the election in the US of President Donald Trump created the conditions that allowed Israel to finally follow through on its threats. Israel had told the Trump administration that the large-scale attacks were coming, officials in the US and Israel said. On Wednesday the US pulled some American diplomats from Iraq's capital and offered voluntary evacuations for the families of US troops in the wider Middle East. עדכון חשוב >> — Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) June 13, 2025 The United States is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to Israel's strikes on Iran and a possible retaliatory attack by Tehran, two US officials said. Countries in the region condemned Israel's attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate de-escalation from both sides. Iran asked for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Israel's military said about 200 aircraft were involved in the initial attack on about 100 targets. Its Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defences and missile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officials. Among the key sites Israel attacked was Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air. Israel also said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Israel military spokesman Effie Defrin said the Natanz facility was 'significantly damaged' and that the operation was 'still in the beginning'. Among those killed were three of Iran's top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, General Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard's ballistic missile programme, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Iran confirmed all three deaths, significant blows to its governing theocracy that will complicate efforts to retaliate. Khamenei said other top military officials and scientists were also killed. In its first response, Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel. Israel said the drones were being intercepted outside its airspace, and it was not immediately clear whether any got through. Mr Trump urged Iran to reach a deal with Washington on its nuclear programme, warning on his Truth Social platform that Israel's attacks 'will only get worse'. 'Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire,' he wrote. 'No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.' Israeli leaders cast the attack as necessary to head off an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs, though it remains unclear how close the country is to achieving that or whether Iran had actually been planning a strike. Iran maintains its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. 'This is a clear and present danger to Israel's very survival,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed as he vowed to pursue the attack for as long as necessary to 'remove this threat'. Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East but has never acknowledged having such weapons. 'Radiation levels outside the Natanz facility remained unchanged. The type of radioactive contamination present inside the facility, mainly alpha particles, can be managed with appropriate protective measures.' – DG @rafaelmgrossi — IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) June 13, 2025 On Friday, Israelis rushed to supermarkets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere to buy bottled water and other supplies. But, otherwise, streets and parks were mostly deserted. For Mr Netanyahu, the operation distracts attention from Israel's ongoing and increasingly devastating war in Gaza, which is now more than 20 months old. Khamenei said in a statement that Israel 'opened its wicked and blood-stained hand to a crime in our beloved country, revealing its malicious nature more than ever by striking residential centres'. Mr Netanyahu expressed hope the attacks would trigger the downfall of Iran's theocracy, saying his message to the Iranian people was that the fight was not with them, but with the 'brutal dictatorship that has oppressed you for 46 years'. 'I believe that the day of your liberation is near,' he said. US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Israel took 'unilateral action against Iran' and that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defence.
