Military says several sites hit in Israel after Iran missile barrage
Israel's military said several sites were hit by the latest Iranian missile barrage on Sunday, with firefighters reporting a residential building struck on the country's Mediterranean coast.
"Homefront Command Search and Rescue teams have been dispatched to several hit sites in Israel, following the latest barrage from Iran," the military said in a statement shortly after telling the public they could leave protected shelters.
The fire services, meanwhile, said rescuers were heading to building on the coast that sustained a "direct hit".
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Middle East Eye
2 days ago
- Middle East Eye
Military says several sites hit in Israel after Iran missile barrage
Israel's military said several sites were hit by the latest Iranian missile barrage on Sunday, with firefighters reporting a residential building struck on the country's Mediterranean coast. "Homefront Command Search and Rescue teams have been dispatched to several hit sites in Israel, following the latest barrage from Iran," the military said in a statement shortly after telling the public they could leave protected shelters. The fire services, meanwhile, said rescuers were heading to building on the coast that sustained a "direct hit".
The National
04-06-2025
- The National
US plan to deport migrants to Libya 'will put them in extreme danger'
Plans to deport migrants from the US to Libya would put them in extreme danger and destabilise the already fragile North African nation, a report has warned. The Trump administration has been in talks to deport asylum seekers to Libya, as well as migrants living in the US who hold criminal records, though a judge has temporarily halted any removals. But a report from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC) has raised fears that any migrants sent to Libya face being put in violent detention centres where their lives would be at risk. The study's author Matt Herbert, head of research for North Africa and the Sahel, said Libya's competing governments – the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) and the Government of National Stability (GNS) – both run migration detention facilities. These were set up to hold migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa but also from the Middle East, who arrive in the country to pay people smugglers to take them across the Mediterranean, as part of an agreement with the EU nations to reduce migration. Conditions in the 'migrant detention facilities are extremely poor, with limited food and water and frequent overcrowding', says Mr Herbert. 'The centres are also sites of chronic and grave human rights abuses, which have been widely recorded over the years. Physical abuse, beatings, verbal humiliation and psychological torture are commonplace, and are often used during interrogations or as punishment.' Migrants also face extortion and kidnapping by 'predatory' criminal gangs, which involves 'torture until a ransom is paid'. In many detention centres 'guards systematically demand ransoms from detainees, under threat of torture or death, mirroring the actions of criminal extortion gangs operating elsewhere. 'In some cases, there is collusion with criminal gangs or armed groups that engage in similar activities outside the facility, with detainees being transferred off-site for the purpose of extortion.' Mr Herbert warns that 'migrants deported from the US risk becoming entangled in this' should the deportations eventually go ahead. His report also highlights the impact any deportations would have on the political situation in Libya, where there is 'significant anti-migrant rhetoric, both online and from key political actors'. Migration has become a 'lightning rod' for criticism of the Tripoli-based GNU government of Hamid Dabaiba and there was 'significant tension' when it was alleged Libya would be accepting large numbers of Palestinian refugees. 'If US deportations to Libya were to route to GNU-controlled areas, they would feed into the ongoing highly politicised debate surrounding migration in the region,' says Mr Herbert. 'This would pose a particular risk to Prime Minister Dabaiba, giving his opponents a potent line of rhetorical attack and poisoning public opinion against him.' The GNU's authority is challenged by powerful militias, so 'any perceived foreign pressure to host migrants could inflame public anger, put additional strain on Prime Minister Dabaiba and his already fragile governance structures'. When it comes to the GNS, the report states that the control of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar is more "robust", which would make deportations to there more manageable. But Mr Herbert warns 'they could embolden Haftar, a strongman whose forces have been repeatedly accused of human rights abuses, possibly incentivising him to pursue deeper military ambitions or political repression'. He concludes that: 'In short, deporting migrants to Libya – regardless of which faction accepts them – would not only endanger the people involved but also feed the systems of impunity and conflict that have long plagued the country.' After American officials had said the US military could fly the migrants to the North African country as soon as mid-May but stressed that plans could change, US District Judge Brian Murphy issued an order restricting their removal. When the proposals became public, both Libyan governments publicly denied reports that the US wants to send migrants to the country. Immigration rights advocates said in court filings that individuals potentially subject to deportation to Libya also included Filipino, Laotian and Vietnamese migrants. The relatives of one Mexican national have said he had been instructed to sign a document allowing for his deportation to Libya.
Gulf Today
04-06-2025
- Gulf Today
Grebnev reclaims solo leadership with two rounds to go in Dubai chess tourney
Grandmaster (GM) Aleksey Grebnev of Russia once again distanced himself from the field with a hard-fought win against International Master (IM) S. Rohith Krishna of India in Monday night's seventh round of the 25th Dubai Open Chess Tournament at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club. Grebnev captalised on a series of blunders by Krishna in what was otherwise an equal position to dispose of his erstwhile co-leader and take the tournament lead with six points. The 18-year-old Russian is trailed closely by two other teenage grandmasters three years his junior - his compatriot Ivan Zemlyanskii and Sina Movahed of Iran, who both have 5.5 points. Movahed, who turned 15 last week during the tournament's opening day, and Zemlyanskii, two months shy of his 15th birthday in August, scored the biggest scalps of the round after defeating defending champion GM Mahammad Muradli and top-seed GM Nihal Sarin, respectively. Movahed inflicted Muradli's second consecutive loss in the tournament. Muradli was on the backpedal right out of the opening as Movahed sacrificed a pawn to weaken the Azerbaijani's kingside defence. Movahed, however, could not find the precise continuation to convert his advantage until a greedy pawn grab by Muradli on the 39th move allowed the Iranian to launch an overwhelming attack with all his pieces contributing to the onslaught. Muradli resigned three moves later. After being held by two consecutive draws, Nihal, playing the black pieces, once again took big risks to play for a win. The ploy initially worked as he started to create weaknesses around white's kingside, but the Indian failed to find the most accurate way to sustain the offensive, allowing Zemlyanskii to force an exchange of queens that neutralised the attack and left him a pawn up in the endgame. Grebnev will have the black pieces as he tries to protect his lead when he faces Movahed in the next round. In Category B, Fide Master (FM) Mahdi Nikookar of Iran ended his perfect run after a draw with Sri Lanka's Pesandu Rashmitha Liyanage in the seventh round. Nikookar, however, remains the solo leader with 6.5 points, followed by Liyanage and Indian Candidate Master (CM) Alankar Sawai Vandan with six points each. Vandan defeated Armenia's Davit Baghdasaryan. The tournament follows a 9-round Swiss system with a 90-minute time control plus a 30-second increment per move. Games are played every day from 5pm, except the final round on June 4, which starts at 10am. The awarding ceremony is on June 5. The tournament offers a prize pool of $52,000 to be handed out to the winners of both categories. Category A, contested by players with a rating over 2300, has a total prize fund of $39,500 with $12,000 going to the champion, while Category B, open to players rated below 2300, offers $12,500 in total prizes and $2,000 awarded to the champion. Special prizes will also be distributed to top performers among rating categories, unrated, youth, women, and UAE players. Chess fans from around the world can watch the Category A games live on the club's website as well as chess platforms such as and Earlier, International Master (IM) S Rohith Krishna of India defeated defending champion GM Mahammad Muradli to rise to the top of the standings in a tie with Grandmaster (GM) Aleksey Grebnev after Sunday night's sixth round. Grebnev drew with top-seed GM Nihal Sarin on the first board, allowing Krishna to join him for the lead with five points each. Nihal remains in joint second place with 4.5 points, alongside his compatriot GM Bharath Subramaniyam, GM Zemlyanskii, GM Shant Sargsyan, and GM Movahed. Muradli sacrificed a pawn on move six in a delayed Benko Gambit and a few moves later the game reached a position that was previously seen in a game between world number two Hikaru Nakamura and former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov. Muradli, however, deviated on move 13, a questionable decision that allowed Krishna to gain time to reinforce his central pawns and plant an uncontested knight on the c4-square, the white knight's ideal outpost in the Benko Gambit.
