JAKARTA, Indonesia: A strong, shallow earthquake rocked Indonesia’s central Sulawesi province Monday evening, injuring at least three people and damaging some buildings and houses.
The US Geological Survey said the magnitude-6.8 quake was centered in a thinly populated area 79 kilometers (49 miles) southeast of the provincial capital, Palu, at a depth of 9.1 kilometers (6 miles).
The National Disaster Management Agency said buildings were damaged in Poso, a city to the southeast of the epicenter, and a number of houses and churches were damaged in nearby villages.
At least three villagers were hospitalized for head wounds, it said.
The agency posted photos of damage in Poso on Twitter. One showed a collapsed building and another showed a convenience store with goods strewn on its floor but otherwise intact.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency recorded 14 aftershocks of up to magnitude-5.2, also at a shallow depth. Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage on the Earth’s surface.
It said the land-based quake didn’t have any potential to cause a tsunami.
Indonesia is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location along the Pacific “Ring of Fire.” A powerful Indian Ocean quake and tsunami in 2004 killed a total of 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.
Strong Indonesia earthquake damages buildings, hurts some
Strong Indonesia earthquake damages buildings, hurts some
Rights groups urge UN to release findings on Israeli killing of journalist in Lebanon
- The letter signed by 16 organization said release ‘necessary to support other justice and accountability efforts’
- Issa Abdallah was killed on Oct. 13 in what some investigators say was ‘deliberate strike’ on press
LONDON: Human rights groups have urged the UN’s peacekeeping force in Lebanon to publicly release the findings of a probe into Israel’s killing of a Reuters videographer last year.
Issa Abdallah was killed and six other journalists from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Al Jazeera were injured in the strike on Oct. 13.
Investigations launched by Human Rights Watch, Reuters and AFP concluded that the attack was a deliberate strike by the Israeli military against media workers wearing visible press vests.
The letter to the UN was sent by 16 NGOs and journalist groups, including HRW, MENA Rights Group, The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy and Reporters Without Borders.
It was addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, UNIFIL Force Commander Lieutenant General Aroldo Lazaro Saenz, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka and Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
“The Reuters report suggests that the UNIFIL investigation corroborated the findings of investigations conducted by Reporters Without Borders, Reuters, AFP, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch,” the organizations said in the letter.
“We, therefore, request that UNIFIL make its full investigation public in accordance with the UN’s commitment to transparency.”
The request follows mounting concern that the UN’s findings may not be released to the public, a scenario the group notes “is not without precedent.
“If UNIFIL is currently unable to make the full report public, we ask you to make a public statement explaining why and providing a timeline for when publication will occur. In such instances, a redacted or summarized version of the report should be released in the interim,” the letter said.
The release of the findings is “necessary to support other justice and accountability efforts,” it added.
Reuters staff, who saw a copy of the seven-page summary of the investigation dated to February this year, said UNIFIL found that an Israeli tank killed Abdallah by firing two 120 mm rounds at a group of “clearly identifiable journalists,” in violation of international law.
The investigators added that UNIFIL personnel did not record any exchange of fire across the border between Israel and Lebanon for more than 40 minutes before the Israeli Merkava tank opened fire.
If confirmed, the strikes could be investigated as a war crime, a demand previously made by HRW and Amnesty International.
Russia launches barrage of 99 drones and missiles on Ukraine’s energy system, officials say
- Air raid warnings rang out across the nation, with 10 Ukrainian regions coming under fire, the country’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said
- Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator, Ukrenergo, said Friday’s attack deliberately targeted thermal and hydroelectric power plants across central and western regions
KYIV: Moscow launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure Friday, with a mass barrage of 99 drones and missiles hitting regions across the country, Ukraine’s armed forces said.
Air raid warnings rang out across the nation, with 10 Ukrainian regions coming under fire, the country’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said.
Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukraine in recent days, launching several missile barrages on the capital, Kyiv, and hitting energy infrastructure across the country in apparent retaliation for recent Ukrainian aerial attacks on the Russian border region of Belgorod. Such sporadic attacks, however, have been common throughout the war.
Large-scale blackouts have already affected Ukraine’s eastern city of Kharkiv, where 700,000 people lost power after the city’s thermal power plant was hit in a drone and missile attack on March 22.
In the winter of 2022-23, Russia targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, causing frequent blackouts. Many in Ukraine and the West expected that Russia might repeat that strategy this winter, but Russia instead initially focused its strikes on Ukraine’s defense industries.
Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator, Ukrenergo, said Friday’s attack deliberately targeted thermal and hydroelectric power plants across central and western regions.
In a statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine’s Kaniv and Dniester hydroelectric power stations had come under attack and accused Moscow of risking an ecological disaster similar to the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June 2023.
Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused the other of destroying the dam, but the various Russian allegations — that it was hit by a missile or taken down by explosives — fail to account for a blast so strong that it registered on seismic monitors in the region.
The dam’s destruction led to deadly flooding, endangered crops, threatened drinking water supplies for thousands and unleashed an environmental catastrophe.
Zelensky also warned that other countries would be threatened if the dams were hit. Dnister Hydroelectric station, located near the city of Novodnistrovsk, Ukraine, is approximately 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the border with Moldova.
“Not only is Ukraine under threat, but Moldova too,” Zelensky said. “The water will not stop in front of the border.”
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private electricity operator, also said that three of its thermal power plants had been damaged in the attacks. It announced emergency power shutdowns in the city of Odesa, leaving several neighborhoods without power.
Five people, including a 5-year-old girl, were wounded during the attack in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, said local Gov. Serhii Lysak.
He later said that another man had been killed and one more injured in a separate drone attack Friday.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian police said rescuers had recovered the body of a 66-year-old woman from a building in the Mykolaiv region that was hit by a Russian missile Thursday night.
The bombardment in the west of Ukraine caused the Polish Armed Forces to scramble its own aircraft, the country’s operational command said on social media.
Last week, Warsaw demanded an explanation from Moscow after one of its missiles strayed briefly into Polish airspace during a major missile attack on Ukraine, prompting the NATO member to activate F-16 fighter jets.
Romania’s defense ministry also said on Friday that an investigation has been launched after fragments that appeared to be from a drone were identified on its territory Thursday evening in an agricultural area of Braila county, close to the border with Ukraine.
It did not provide additional details, although since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, NATO member Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on several occasions.
Belgorod also came under fire Friday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense wrote on social media. It said that it shot down 15 Ukrainian shells, with falling debris damaging a number of residential buildings. No casualties were reported.
Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov later said on social media that one man had died as the result of a separate drone attack which struck an apartment block.
Daesh says four members arrested over Moscow attack
- Moscow has detained 12 people and charged eight with “terror-related offenses” over their alleged roles in the attack
- A Moscow court has remanded the four main suspects in custody until May 22
BAGHDAD: The Daesh group said Friday four of its members had been arrested after they attacked a concert hall near Moscow killing 143 people, a day after Russia blamed Ukraine.
On March 22, gunmen opened fire at the Crocus City concert hall near Moscow, setting the venue alight and wounding 80 people.
Moscow has detained 12 people and charged eight with “terror-related offenses” over their alleged roles in the attack. They include four suspects from Tajikistan who are accused of carrying it out, Russian state media said.
Daesh swiftly claimed the attack, although Moscow has said repeatedly that the attackers had links to “Ukrainian nationalists” — a claim Kyiv rejects.
In the latest issue of its weekly Al-Nabaa magazine published Friday on Telegram channels, the group said its fighters had been hunted down by ground and air forces.
The operation ended when the men were surrounded in “a forest,” Daesh said, adding that they were now in “captivity.”
-- a date likely to be extended until their trial.
Russia has been a repeated target of attack by Daesh, in retaliation for its suppression of unrest in Muslim-majority regions and its support for President Bashar Assad’s government in the civil war in Syria.
Liverpool target Xabi Alonso says staying as Leverkusen coach
- The 42-year-old Spaniard has Leverkusen on course for a trophy treble, including their first ever German league crown
- “Last week I had a meeting when I informed (Leverkusen’s directors) of my decision to continue being coach of Bayer Leverkusen”
MUNICH: Xabi Alonso, who was seen by many as Liverpool’s top target to replace Jurgen Klopp as their manager, said on Friday he is staying at Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen next season.
The 42-year-old Spaniard has Leverkusen on course for a trophy treble, including their first ever German league crown.
“It’s been a season of speculation regarding my future,” Alonso told a press conference.
“Up till now we have been busy and focused on the season and I wanted to reflect during the international break and take a decision.
“Last week I had a meeting when I informed (Leverkusen’s directors) of my decision to continue being coach of Bayer Leverkusen.”
Alonso said he was still developing as a coach and he felt Leverkusen, his first senior team coaching post, is the best place for him to continue growing.
“At the moment this is the right place for me to develop as a coach, I am a young coach,” he said.
“Right now this is the right place. I have to thank the management.
“The club had been supportive and I feel respected by all departments.”
Alonso has a contract until 2026 but had been linked with moves to Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, all clubs where he spent time as a player, having done a stunning job at runaway Bundesliga leaders Leverkusen.
Leverkusen are unbeaten this term with 34 victories and four draws and are 10 points clear of Bayern Munich and on track for their first ever Bundesliga title with eight games remaining this season.
The former Spain midfielder, who was a member of the side that won the Euro in 2008 and 2012 as well as the 2010 World Cup, is aiming to complete a treble.
Aside from topping the table they are in the final four of the German Cup and the quarter-finals of the Europa League and could potentially meet Liverpool in the final.
Alonso’s coaching experience was limited to the Real Sociedad B team when he was appointed Leverkusen coach in October 2022, but he showed he had natural talent as a coach as he saved them from relegation.
With Alonso out of the race to replace Klopp the frontrunners are believed to be Sporting Lisbon head coach Ruben Amorim and Brighton’s Italian manager Roberto De Zerbi.
De Zerbi can further impress his potential employers on Sunday as he takes his side to Liverpool and is yet to come off second best against Klopp in four meetings.
Speaking in Liverpool after Alonso had made his announcement, Klopp said he understood his decision.
“He is doing an incredible job there. Leverkusen has a good team and they will probably keep the team together,” Klopp said.
“That’s a possibility and not all years it is like that. So I understand that he wants to do that.”
Klopp shocked the football world when he announced in January he would be standing down from the Liverpool job after a hugely successful nine-year stay.
In 2020 he delivered their first league title since 1990, a year after landing the 2019 Champions League.
Alonso preferred not to comment directly about the Liverpool vacancy or indeed Bayern Munich, who were hoping to attract him to replace Thomas Tuchel, who is leaving at the end of the season.
Tuchel’s departure is a consequence of Alonso’s success — should Leverkusen hold their nerve and lift the Bundesliga trophy it will bring to an end Bayern’s run of 11 successive league crowns.
“I think it wouldn’t be correct of me to talk about other clubs when they are in this situation,” said Alonso, who remains a devoted Liverpool fan and encouraged his son to be one as well.
“For sure there are clubs I have a strong link, I play there. So I respect them. But it’s not correct for me to talk about them right now.
“It’s more that the conviction I am in the right place at Bayer Leverkusen and I want to keep growing with the club, growing with the players.
“I am at this stage in my young career. I had to feel the decision was in a natural way and that’s why I have taken it.”
France asks for foreign police and military help with massive Paris Olympics security challenge
- The Interior Ministry said Friday that the request for foreign security assistance was made in January, seeking nearly 2,185 reinforcements
- The officers are sought to help with Games security and “the spectator experience” and to “strengthen international cooperation,” the ministry said
PARIS: France says it has asked 46 countries if they would be willing to supply more than 2,000 police officers to help secure the Paris Olympics this summer, as organizers finalize security planning for the French capital’s first Games in a century while on heightened alert against potential attacks.
The Interior Ministry said Friday that the request for foreign security assistance was made in January, seeking nearly 2,185 reinforcements. The officers are sought to help with Games security and “the spectator experience” and to “strengthen international cooperation,” the ministry said.
“This is a classic approach of host countries for the organization of major international events,” the ministry added.
It noted that France sent 200 of its gendarmes to soccer’s World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and also welcomed 160 officers from other European security forces for the Rugby World Cup that France hosted last year.
Separately, the French Defense Ministry has also asked foreign nations for “small numbers” of military personnel who could help with “very specific” tasks at the Games, including sniffer dog teams, said Col. Pierre Gaudillière, spokesman for the army general staff.
Poland’s defense minister said his country will be sending soldiers to the Paris Games. The Polish armed forces delegation will include dog handlers and “its main goal will be to undertake activities related to the detection of explosives and counteracting terrorist phenomena.” the minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, posted on X.
Security is the biggest challenge for Paris Games organizers in a city that has been repeatedly hit by deadly attacks by Islamic extremists and which is expecting as many as 15 million visitors for the July 26-Aug. 11 Games and Paralympics that follow.
Security concerns are notably high for the opening ceremony, which will involve boats along the Seine River and huge crowds watching from the embankments.
France’s government increased its security alert posture to the highest level in the wake of the recent deadly attack at a Russian concert hall and Daesh’s claim of responsibility.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced the decision in a post on X, saying authorities were “taking into account Daesh’s claim of responsibility for the (Moscow) attack and the threats weighing on our country.″