Latest news with #AFP.
India Today
5 days ago
- India Today
Longest hours of my life: Filipino sailor recalls attack by Houthis
Filipino seafarer Cocoy was off-duty and resting in his cabin when the captain's voice boomed over the intercom of the cargo ship: "We are under attack".The 38-year-old realised what sounded like a "knock" from inside the vessel was gunfire being exchanged by ship security and Houthi rebels swarming the ship in small July 6 assault on the Greek-owned Magic Seas broke a months-long lull in attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Red Sea shipping, which began after the start of the Gaza war in October Crew members scrambled to reach the "muster station" at the centre of the ship, considered the safest place should a projectile strike the vessel."There was panic, but we knew we had to move. It's like we were on autopilot," said Cocoy, who asked to be referred to by his nickname as he undergoes a debriefing."(The crew) were in a daze, but they were all rushing to do their assigned jobs for our safety protocol... maybe I looked dazed too," he told AFP."There were speedboats from the right, left and back of our ship," he said, relaying what the ship's security team had told him."There was also a bigger boat with around 15 crew who were attempting to board our ship, but luckily, our armed guards were able to stop them."Of the 22 aboard the ship, 17 were group huddled inside the muster station for nearly five hours as the ship's three armed Sri Lankan security guards tried to stave off the attack."I lost count of how many hits we took," he told AFP of Houthi projectiles.A Houthi spokesman would later claim that five ballistic and cruise missiles and three drones had been employed in the would breach the hull."The flooding had started so we decided to abandon the ship," Cocoy said. "We deployed our lifeboat, all 22 of us, and left our main vessel."Filipino sailors make up as much as 30 percent of the world's commercial shipping force. The nearly $7 billion they sent home in 2023 accounted for about a fifth of remittances sent to the archipelago a seafarer for more than 15 years, it was Cocoy's first passage through the Red Sea, and what he called a case of "really bad timing"."During the gunfight, the faces of my wife and child flashed before my eyes. I kept thinking... will they survive without me?" he said."I thought I was going to die."After abandoning ship, Cocoy and his shipmates spent three hours floating in the Red Sea before being picked up by a Panama-flagged container were the longest hours of my life," he Magic Seas was no longer within their sight as it sank beneath the waves.'We were just lucky'A day after Cocoy's ordeal, another vessel crewed largely by Filipino sailors, the Eternity C, was attacked and of those aboard were rescued. Another 15 are dead or was the deadliest such assault since three people were killed in a missile attack on another ship in March last Wednesday night, eight Filipinos rescued from the Eternity C landed at Manila's international Iran-backed Houthis said last week they had "rescued" an unspecified number of the Eternity C's crew and taken them to a safe location, prompting charges of kidnapping by the US news journal Lloyd's List reported six Filipino seafarers as "believed taken hostage".The Philippine government has so far offered no information about the possibility of either hostages or negotiations."I feel terrified for the (missing) Eternity C crew," Cocoy told AFP."We were just lucky, because all of us survived... I pray that many of their crew can still be located alive."advertisementCocoy, who is plagued by nightmares of the attack, said he is unsure if he will return to the sea."What happened to us was not normal," he said, urging shipowners to find routes that avoid the Red Sea."It's something that no one should ever experience."- Ends
Roya News
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Roya News
Gaza truce talks stall over 'Israeli' demands: Palestinian sources
Negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza have hit a roadblock due to 'Israel's' insistence on a withdrawal map that would maintain its military control over approximately 40 percent of the Gaza Strip, two Palestinian sources told AFP. One source indicated that the Doha talks are facing "complex difficulties" because of 'Israel's' proposed map for troop redeployment rather than a full withdrawal. This plan, submitted Friday, "includes keeping military forces on more than 40% of the Gaza Strip, which Hamas rejects," the source said. A second informed Palestinian official stated that "Israel continues its policy of procrastination and obstructing the agreement to continue the war of extermination." According to the source, 'Israel's' proposed withdrawal map aims to retain forces in "all areas south of the Morag Corridor in Rafah, including maintaining control over the Philadelphi Corridor," the 13-kilometer border strip between Gaza and Egypt. 'Israel' also seeks to "maintain control over most of the land in the town of Beit Hanoun" in northern Gaza and keep military positions across eastern Gaza that are 1,200 to 3,000 meters deep. The Hamas negotiating delegation "will not accept the Israeli maps submitted because they represent granting legitimacy to the re-occupation of about half the area of the Strip and making the Gaza Strip isolated areas without crossings or freedom of movement, like Nazi camps," the source told AFP.. He warned that this withdrawal map "aims to trap hundreds of thousands of displaced people in a part of western Rafah in preparation for the displacement of citizens to Egypt or other countries, which Hamas rejects." Qatari and Egyptian mediators have asked both sides to postpone negotiations on the withdrawal until US envoy Steve Witkoff arrives in Doha. The mediators "pledged to continue working to bridge the gap and reconcile viewpoints to reach an agreement," the source added.. The Palestinian official said that "Hamas demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all areas that were re-controlled by Israel after March 2," following the collapse of a two-month truce. While the 'Israeli' negotiating delegation "has no answers and practically does not negotiate because it does not have the authority," the official noted that "progress has been made regarding humanitarian aid and prisoner exchange."
Time of India
12-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Canada just can't win in trade war with Trump
Despite Canada's efforts to appease President Trump, trade tensions remain high as the two nations rush to finalize a new trade accord. Trump's threat of a 35% tariff on Canadian imports has complicated negotiations, highlighting the challenges Canada faces in dealing with the US president's unpredictable tactics. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Try as it might to appease President Donald Trump, Canada remains a prized target in his trade wars and subject to the whiplash of his changes of giant North American neighbors are rushing to conclude a new trade accord by July 21 but the process is proving painful for Thursday, Trump threatened to slap a 35 percent tariff on imports from Canada starting August products complying with an existing accord, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), are expected to remain exempt, a Trump administration official and a source in Canada told AFP."An agreement is of course possible but that shows how difficult it is for the Canadian government to negotiate with the US president," said Daniel Beland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, referring to Trump's sudden has been a key trading partner and ally of the United States for decades. But along with Mexico, it now wears a bull's eye for Trump in his second stint in the White House as he tries to reorder the global system of largely free trade by slapping tariffs on friends and foes alike to address what he calls unfair trading has also spoken frequently of his idea of absorbing Canada to make it the 51st US state, a concept most Canadians find was rocked by Trump's first attacks after he took power in January. And bad blood between him and then-prime minister Justin Trudeau seemed to pour gas on the degree of hope emerged when Mark Carney was elected in late April to replace Trudeau, pledging to stand up to Trump and defend Canada, its jobs and its then, Carney and Trump have held two more or less cordial meetings -- at the Oval Office in May and at a Group of Seven summit in western Canada last people thought a new era was opening, and Carney won praise for his diplomatic and negotiating the second of those meetings, the two sides agreed to sign a new trade agreement by July in late June Trump angrily called off the trade talks, citing a new Canadian tax on US Big Tech scrapped the tax two days later so the trade talks could resume. Now they have been rocked again by Trump's new threat of 35 percent tariffs on Canadian has taken to not reacting to everything Trump says. After Trump's latest outburst, Carney simply said, "the Canadian government has steadfastly defended our workers and businesses."But among Canadian people, Trump's threat-rich negotiating style elicits contrasting reactions, said Beland."There are people who want a firmer response while others want to keep negotiating," he the beginning of this tug of war, Canada has responded to US action by imposing levies of its own on certain American Bourbeau, a professor at HEC Montreal, a business school, said people have to realize Trump has an underlying strategy."You can criticize the aggressiveness of the announcements and the fact that it is done out in the open, but it is a negotiating tactic," said Bourbeau, adding that the relationship between the two countries is asymmetrical."It is illusory to think this is a negotiation between parties of the same size. Canada will surely have to give up more to reach an agreement," he Trump came to power, three quarters of Canada's exports went to the United States. This was down to 68 percent in May, one of the lowest such shares ever recorded, as shipments to other countries hit record levels."We are Donald Trump's scapegoats," said Genevieve Tellier, a professor of political science at the University of Ottawa."He sees us as vulnerable, so he increases the pressure. He is surely telling himself that it is with us that he will score the big win he wants on tariffs," Tellier said.
India Today
08-07-2025
- Climate
- India Today
Greece's iconic Acropolis temporarily closed due to severe 4-day heatwave
Greece's top archaeological monument, the Acropolis, was partially shut on Tuesday as part of emergency measures to protect visitors and workers around the country during a four-day Greek culture ministry said the world-renowned site would be shut till 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) "for the safety of workers and visitors, owing to high temperatures."The four-day heatwave confirmed by meteorologists began on Sunday, and was the second to grip Greece since late Temperatures are expected to reach 42 Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, with a maximum of 38 Celsius in temperatures are expected on protect outdoor workers, the labour ministry has decreed a work stoppage from 12:00 to 5:00 pm in various parts of the country, including several stoppage mainly affects construction work and delivery riders."Days with a heatwave make my job more difficult," cycle-riding courier Michalis Keskinidis told AFP."We drink a lot of water to protect ourselves from the heat, combined with electrolytes, and take breaks whenever possible," the 43-year-old 2,500-year-old Acropolis, built on a rock overlooking the capital that offers little shade, draws tens of thousands of visitors year it recorded some 4.5 million visitors, an increase of over 15 percent compared to had been forced to order similar shutdowns in the past two years in heatwave OF FIRE, STORMSThe Greek civil protection authority has warned of high fire risk in the greater Athens area, in central Greece and the Peloponnese fire department has been dealing with up to 50 fires daily, the head of the Greek fire service officers' union Constantinos Tsigkas told state TV Serbia's hydrometeorological service RMHZ warned that weather conditions could fuel more fires, after 620 fires were recorded on there are also thunderstorms expected in Serbia's northern Vojvodina region, as well as in western and central has also warned of the possibility of hail and hurricane-force gusts of has already felt the impact of storms since Monday, with several of the country's regions people were injured and hospitalised in Vinkovci after a storm knocked down a power line on a family house near the eastern town, police authorities said they had taken dozens of calls over wind-related emergencies, including trees blocking roads, damaged roofs and power Tuesday, heavy rain and gale-force winds flooded roads, knocked down trees and caused power outages in the Croatian port town of Split, the state-run HRT broadcaster the town's port, a ferry broke its moorings and hit a catamaran and a tourist excursion boat, sinking the was similar trouble further north, with storms raging in Hungary and Budapest, strong winds damaged roofs, felled trees onto roads and downed power lines on Monday, with the national meteorological service HungaroMet measuring winds up to 137 kilometres (85 miles) per hour traffic was severely disrupted across Hungary, with full restoration of services potentially requiring weeks, according to Construction and Transport Minister Janos Slovakia, gale-force winds caused power outages and blew off the roof of a block of flats in the eastern town of Gelnica and fallen trees disrupted road and railway transport across the country's weather service SHMU has issued a storm warning with heavy rain, wind and hail for Tuesday, mainly for central and eastern Slovakia.- EndsMust Watch
Al Etihad
08-07-2025
- Climate
- Al Etihad
Acropolis shuts, outdoor work halted as heatwave scorches Greece
8 July 2025 14:15 Athens (AFP) Greece's top archaeological monument, the Acropolis, was partially shut on Tuesday as part of emergency measures to protect visitors and workers around the country during a four-day Greek culture ministry said the world-renowned site would be shut till 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) "for the safety of workers and visitors, owing to high temperatures."The four-day heatwave confirmed by meteorologists began Sunday is the second to grip Greece since late are expected to reach 42°C on Tuesday, with a maximum of 38°C in temperatures are expected on protect outdoor workers, the labour ministry has decreed a work stoppage from 12:00 to 5:00 pm in various parts of the country, including several stoppage mainly affects construction work and delivery riders."Days with a heatwave make my job more difficult," cycle-riding courier Michalis Keskinidis told AFP."We drink a lot of water to protect ourselves from the heat, combined with electrolytes, and take breaks whenever possible," the 43-year-old 2,500-year-old Acropolis, built on a rock overlooking the capital that offers little shade, draws tens of thousands of visitors year it recorded some 4.5 million visitors, an increase of over 15% compared to had been forced to order similar shutdowns in the past two years in heatwave conditions. Risk of fire, storms The Greek civil protection authority has warned of high fire risk in the greater Athens area, in central Greece and the Peloponnese fire department has been dealing with up to 50 fires daily, the head of the Greek fire service officers' union Constantinos Tsigkas told state TV Serbia's hydrometeorological service RMHZ warned that weather conditions could fuel more fires, after 620 fires were recorded there are also thunderstorms expected in Serbia's northern Vojvodina region, as well as in western and central has also warned of the possibility of hail and hurricane-force gusts of has already felt the impact of storms since Monday, with several of the country's regions Tuesday, heavy rain and gale-force winds flooded roads, knocked down trees and caused power outages at the Croatian port town of Split, the state-run HRT broadcaster Budapest, strong winds damaged roofs, felled trees onto roads and downed power lines on Monday, with the national meteorological service HungaroMet measuring winds up to 137 kilometres per hour locally. Rail traffic was severely disrupted across Hungary with full restoration of services potentially requiring weeks, according to Construction and Transport Minister Janos Lazar.
