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Indian Express
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Why is Israel striking Syria? All we need to know about the conflict
In a dramatic escalation, Israeli fighter jets struck multiple sites in the heart of Syria's capital on Wednesday, damaging a compound of the defence ministry and targeting areas near the presidential palace. The Israeli military confirmed the strikes, saying they were aimed at halting the advance of Syrian forces in the southern province of Sweida, a region at the centre of the country's Druse minority. The airstrikes come amid bloody clashes in Sweida and heightened tensions between Israel and Syria. Here's what to know about the conflict: Israeli warplanes launched several waves of airstrikes over central Damascus, according to both Israeli and Syrian authorities. One of the primary targets was a military compound that includes the Syrian defence ministry and the general staff headquarters, which Israeli officials said was being used to coordinate government offensives in Sweida. The Syrian health ministry said at least one civilian was killed and 18 others injured. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described 'extensive' damage in Damascus's government district. Eyewitnesses spoke of chaos and panic as missiles rained down. 'We were inside the ministry when the first airstrike hit,' Abu Musab, a 30-year-old employee at the defence ministry, told The New York Time. 'Then a second strike followed. Later, the aircraft came back and carried out four strikes in a row… There are still people trapped under the rubble.' Israel also confirmed it was conducting dozens of strikes in Sweida itself, targeting Syrian soldiers and military infrastructure. The Sweida region is the heartland of Syria's Druse community — a religious minority with a significant presence in Israel. Clashes broke out there on Sunday after members of a Bedouin tribe attacked a Druse man. The Syrian government deployed troops on Monday to quell the unrest. Some accused the government of siding with the Bedouin attackers. Israel, which has pledged to protect the Druse minority, issued a warning to Syria this week, demanding a withdrawal of government troops from Sweida. On Wednesday, Israel escalated its response with strikes. 'We are acting to save our Druse brothers and to eliminate the gangs of the regime,' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address. 'Now I have a single request of you: You are Israeli citizens. Do not cross the border. You are risking your lives.' Dozens of Druse citizens of Israel had surged toward the Israeli-Syrian border to show solidarity with their Syrian counterparts before Netanyahu urged restraint. The Druse are a small and secretive religious minority spread across Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. They are an Arabic-speaking, ethno-religious community whose faith emerged as an offshoot of Shia Islam in the 11th century. Numbering roughly one million worldwide, about half live in Syria, where they constitute around 3 per cent of the population. In Israel, for example, the approximately 152,000 Druse citizens and residents have long distinguished themselves through participation in Israeli public life, particularly the military. In Syria, the Druse have historically tried to maintain autonomy. During the country's nearly 14-year civil war, Druse communities in the southern province of Sweida operated their own militias and distanced themselves from both the Assad regime and Islamist rebel factions. Since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December, Syria's new government under Ahmed al-Shara has sought to reimpose state control across fractured regions. But in Sweida, where the Druse have long maintained a degree of self-rule, many have resisted those efforts. Tensions spiked in May and again in July, when fighting between government troops and Druse fighters led to the deaths of hundreds. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, Syrian government forces carried out summary executions of Druse civilians in the town of Sweida. The strikes come at a politically sensitive time in Syria. The country's new president, Ahmed al-Shara, came to power in December after toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, who was closely aligned with Iran and a staunch adversary of Israel. Al-Shara's rise was supported in part by rebels who have since opened backchannel contacts with Israel, reportedly facilitated by the United States, according to a report by NYT. However, trust in the new regime remains fragile, especially among Syria's religious minorities. Despite assurances from al-Shara's administration, some Druse militias believe the government is acting against them, not protecting them. The fighting in Sweida is among the worst in recent memory. Hospitals are running out of medical supplies, power and internet blackouts are widespread, and many civilians remain trapped. On Wednesday night, a new ceasefire was announced. Syria's interior ministry said it had been brokered with local leaders and would involve an immediate end to hostilities, withdrawal of government forces, and the re-establishment of state authority in the province. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his country helped mediate the truce: 'We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight.' The Sweida clashes mark the third major flare-up of minority-related violence since Assad's fall. (With inputs from The New York Times and AP)
Otago Daily Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Iran fires missiles at US airbase in Qatar
Interceptor missiles are seen in the sky after Iran's armed forces say they targeted the Al-Udeid base in a missile attack, as seen from Doha, Qatar. Photo: Reuters Iran's military said it had carried out a "devastating and powerful" missile attack on the Al Udeid US airbase in Qatar, after explosions were heard across the Qatari capital following Tehran's threat to retaliate for US airstrikes. The New York Time reported Iran took the action to minimize casualties and informed Qatar in advance of the strikes. No US personnel were killed or injured in Iran's attack against the largest US military installation in the Middle East, two U.S. officials told Reuters. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Iranian attack was carried out by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles. Iran had issued threats to retaliate against the United States after US bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-busters on Iranian underground nuclear sites at the weekend, joining Israel's air war against Tehran, and President Donald Trump mooted the possibility of the Iranian government being toppled. Qatar's defence minister, quoted by Al Jazeera TV, said its air defences had intercepted missiles directed at the Al Udeid airbase, the largest US military installation in the Middle East, situated across the Gulf from Iran. Qatari authorities said there were no casualties in the attack, which it condemned and said it reserved the right to respond. The attack came shortly after a Western diplomat told Reuters there had been a credible threat to a US military base in the Gulf state following the US airstrikes on Iran. In addition, the US Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq had activated its air defence system out of concern of a potential attack, military sources told Reuters. The White House and the Defense Department are closely monitoring potential threats to the Al Udeid airbase, a senior White House official said in Washington on Monday. Shortly before, Qatar, a small, wealthy Gulf Arab state, announced it had closed its air space temporarily to ensure the safety of residents and visitors. That followed an advisory from the US embassy in Qatar to Americans to shelter in place, out of what it said was "an abundance of caution". Two US officials said Washington had assessed that Iran could carry out attacks targeting American forces in the Middle East soon, although the US was still seeking a diplomatic resolution that would see Tehran forgo any reprisal. Earlier on Monday, Israel bombed a jail for political prisoners in Tehran in a potent demonstration that it was expanding its targets beyond military and nuclear sites to aim squarely at the pillars of Iran's ruling system. Despite Iran's threats to challenge oil shipments from the Gulf, oil prices largely held steady LCOc1, suggesting traders doubted the Islamic Republic would follow through on any action that would disrupt global supplies. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as Tehran sought backing from one of its last major power friends for its next steps.
Daily Mail
27-04-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Bombshell new report reveals who made fatal mistake that caused Black Hawk to collide with jet and kill 67
The pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with the American Airlines passenger airplane did not comply with directions to change course seconds before the fatal incident, a bombshell new report has revealed. On the night of January 29, Army Black Hawk pilot Capt. Rebecca Lobach was conducting an annual flight evaluation with her co-pilot Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, who was serving as her flight instructor. Four months on, new details published by The New York Time s revealed that the pilot made more than one mistake, leading to one of the worst catastrophes in aviation history. Not only was Lobach flying her Black Hawk too high, but in the final moments before the impact, she failed to take advice and instruction from her co-pilot to switch course. Lobach's piloting skills were being tested during the evaluation on the fateful night, before the crew were informed that an aircraft was nearby, according to the report. Both Lobach and Eaves acknowledged the message from air traffic control and spotted the plane themselves before requesting to fly by 'visual separation' - a practice that allows aircrafts to avoid collisions based on their own observations instead of following the air traffic controller's instructions. 'The request to fly under those rules is granted routinely in airspace overseen by controllers. Most of the time, visual separation is executed without note. But when mishandled, it can also create a deadly risk — one that aviation experts have warned about for years,' aviation experts told the outlet. With just 15 seconds before colliding with the airplane, air traffic control told Lobach and Eaves to turn left, but instead, she flew directly into the jet. Seconds before impact, co-pilot Eaves also turned to Lobach and told her that air traffic control wanted her to turn left. She still did not do so. Investigators may never know why Lobach did not change course on January 29. The report stated: 'The Black Hawk was 15 seconds away from crossing paths with the jet. Warrant Officer Eaves then turned his attention to Captain Lobach. He told her he believed that air traffic control wanted them to turn left, toward the east river bank.' If she had turned left, it 'would have opened up more space between the helicopter and Flight 5342,' it added. Instead, 67 people - everyone aboard the plane and helicopter - perished. A critical rule in the industry is that if two aircrafts are on a collision course pilots have to be advised if they are likely to merge, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. Experts found that did not happen that night and that 'immediate intervention was needed' to prevent the horrible tragedy that left 67 dead. 'Direct, immediate intervention was needed that night. Instead of seeing and avoiding Flight 5342, Captain Lobach continued flying straight at it,' the report read. Though it remains unclear why Lobach defied orders, Aviation experts predict Lobach may have been 'blindsided' that the American Airlines flight was 'circling' Runway 33 that night. Investigators now believe the Black Hawk crew did not hear the word 'circling' because they might have been pressing the microphone key to talk at the same time the crucial term came through, according to the report. 'If the key is depressed, the pilot can speak but not hear incoming communications,' it detailed. There is also no indication that Lobach suffered a medical emergency at the time of the crash, and didn't have pre existing health issues, her loved ones and people close to the investigation told the outlet. In February it was revealed that the helicopter crew may have had inaccurate altitude readings in the moments before the crash, investigators said. NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said the recording from the Black Hawk suggested an incomplete radio transmission may have left them without understanding how it should shift position to avoid the aircraft. 'That transmission was interrupted - it was stepped on,' she said, leaving them unable to hear the words 'pass behind the' because the helicopter's microphone key was pressed at the same moment. 'At 8:47:42 - or 17 seconds before impact - a radio transmission from the tower was audible on both CVRs directing the Black Hawk to pass behind the CRJ,' Homendy told reporters. 'CVR data from the Black Hawk indicated that the portion of the transmission that stated 'pass behind the' may not have been received by the Black Hawk crew.' Homendy said the helicopter was on a 'check' flight that night where the pilot was undergoing an annual test and a test on using night vision goggles. Investigators believe the crew was wearing night vision goggles throughout the flight and that there was nothing to suggest that the crew had removed them. Just before that discovery, it was revealed that vital tracking technology inside the helicopter was turned off for 'no compelling reason' when it collided. When the chopper went down, the Black Hawk's Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast was disabled - a system which shares an aircraft's position, altitude and speed, Sen. Ted Cruz previously told The New York Times. The technology also includes a display that shows pilots the location of other aircraft both in the sky or on a runway, and allows air traffic controllers to not just rely on radar tracking - which could have a delay of a few seconds. The American Airlines jet, which was flying from Wichita, Kansas, and preparing to land at the time of the crash, was piloted by 34-year-old Jonathan Campos, whose relatives said had dreamed of flying since he was three. The passenger plane recorded its altitude at 313 feet two seconds before collision. A few minutes before the twin-engine jet was to land, air traffic controllers asked if it could use a shorter runway. The pilots agreed, and flight-tracking sites show the plane adjusted its approach. The jet's passengers ranged from a group of hunters to students and parents from northern Virginia schools to members of the Skating Club of Boston. They were returning from a development camp for elite junior skaters that followed the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.
The Independent
15-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump suggests he's above the law with ominous Napoleon quote
Donald Trump appeared to quote Napoleon Bonaparte by way of Rod Steiger on Saturday afternoon after his blitzkrieg of executive actions and threats to federal agencies under Elon Musk were challenged in courts across the country, raising alarms that his administration is preparing to shred court orders and ignite a constitutional crisis. 'He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,' the president wrote on Truth Social and X. The president — whose efforts to gut federal funding, fire thousands of aid workers and unilaterally redefine the 14th Amendment were blocked in federal courts across the country in recent days — invoked a quote often attributed to Napoleon, who justified his despotic regime as the will of the people of France. The quote appeared to come from the 1970 film Waterloo, in which Steiger's Napoleon states that he 'did not 'usurp' the crown.' 'I found it in the gutter, and I picked it up with my sword, and it was the people … who put it on my head,' he says. 'He who saves a nation violates no law.' Within his first month in office, Trump's allies have baselessly argued Trump's supreme authority as president, immune from checks and balances, as his executive orders and Musk's access to the levers of government face an avalanche of lawsuits and restraining orders. Musk and other members of the Trump administration have smeared the judges who have ruled against them as 'corrupt' and 'evil' and threatened to impeach and remove them from the bench. The world's wealthiest man and his allies have repeated false and inflated claims about how the three branches of government operate, and how a system of checks and balances is designed to prevent the presidency from accumulating supreme authority. Their comments are raising alarms among constitutional scholars and legal analysts for an i mpending constitutional crisis — which the White House blames on the judges, not the president's spurious legal actions and the administration's baseless insistence that he should not be subject to checks and balances in the courts. Trump, now seemingly invoking his own 'l'etat, c'est moi' maxim, routinely conflated the criminal and civil cases against him with an attack on the American people and rule of law itself during his campaign. The Supreme Court's 2024 ruling affirming a president's 'immunity' from criminal prosecution for actions tied to official duties while in office has only fueled what he perceives is a permanent shield from oversight. The New York Time s's Jamelle Bouie called Trump's latest statement 'the single most un-American and anti-constitutional statement ever uttered by an American president.' 'We're getting into real Führerprinzip territory here,' added conservative Trump critic Bill Kristol, referencing executive authority under Nazi Germany, granting the word of the führer above all. Musk's ongoing campaign to delegitimize the courts followed Vice President JD Vance 's claim that 'judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power.' This week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the 'media' of 'fear mongering' about an impending constitutional crisis. 'The real constitutional crisis is taking place within our judicial branch where district court judges in liberal districts are abusing their power,' she told reporters on Wednesday. She falsely claimed that court-ordered injunctions against the administration have 'no basis in the law.' 'We will comply with these orders but it is also the administration's position that we will ultimately be vindicated,' she said.
