MOSCOW/DAMASCUS: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to Syria to inspect naval drills involving 15 warships and 30 aircraft in the eastern Mediterranean on Tuesday, the RIA news agency cited his ministry as saying.
The drills are part of a surge of Russian military activity amid a standoff with the West over security in Europe. Russia said earlier it had deployed fighter jets with hypersonic missiles to its Syrian air base for the naval exercises.
Moscow announced on Jan. 20 that its navy would stage an array of exercises involving all its fleets from the Pacific to the Atlantic, drawing on 10,000 servicemen, 140 warships and dozens of planes.
Meanwhile, a bomb attached to a bus carrying Syrian troops in Damascus exploded on Tuesday morning, killing one soldier and wounding 11, state TV reported.
The blast occurred during rush hour at a customs roundabout near the capital’s landmark Omayyad Square, according to the report. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Such attacks have occurred in Damascus in recent months amid an otherwise calm period in the capital. Regime forces captured rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of the city in 2018.
Regime forces now control much of Syria with the help of President Bashar Assad’s allies Russia and Iran, while rebels are mostly cornered in the country’s northwestern province of Idlib. US and Turkish troops, meanwhile, are deployed in parts of the country’s north and east.
In October, two bombs attached to a bus carrying Syrian troops exploded in Damascus, killing 14. It was one of the deadliest bombings in the capital in years.
A little-known group calling itself the Qasioun Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack at the time.
In recent years, attacks in Damascus have been rare. One of the last major explosions to take place was in 2017 — when bombers hit a judicial office building and a restaurant, killing nearly 60 people.
Russia’s defense chief arrives in Syria to review naval drills
https://arab.news/633ut
Russia’s defense chief arrives in Syria to review naval drills
- The drills are part of a surge of Russian military activity amid a standoff with the West over security in Europe
Daesh claims attack on army post in northern Iraq
- Daesh said in a statement on Telegram it had targeted the barracks with machine guns and grenades
BAGHDAD: Daesh claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an attack on Monday targeting an army post in northern Iraq which security sources said had killed a commanding officer and four soldiers.
The attack took place between Diyala and Salahuddin provinces, a rural area that remains a hotbed of activity for militant cells years after Iraq declared final victory over the extremist group in 2017.
Security forces repelled the attack, the defense ministry said on Monday in a statement mourning the loss of a colonel and a number of others from the regiment. The security sources said five others had also been wounded.
Daesh said in a statement on Telegram it had targeted the barracks with machine guns and grenades.
Iraq has seen relative security stability in recent years after the chaos of the 2003-US-led invasion and years of bloody sectarian conflict that followed.
Haaland double puts Man City on brink of Premier League history
- The build-up to the game in north London was dominated by a fierce debate over whether home fans wanted their own team to lose in order to leave City in the driving seat, with Arsenal their nearest challengers
LONDON: Erling Haaland scored twice to settle Manchester City’s nerves as the Premier League champions beat Tottenham 2-0 to take a giant step toward a historic fourth consecutive English title on Tuesday.
The Norwegian forward tapped home a pinpoint Kevin De Bruyne cross early in the second half to score City’s first-ever league goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and netted a late penalty to seal the three points.
It takes Pep Guardiola’s team two points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table and means victory at the Etihad against West Ham on Sunday will make them champions for a fourth straight season, regardless of the Gunners’ result against Everton.
No team in English top-flight history has ever won four titles in a row.
Defeat for Spurs also guarantees that Aston Villa will finish in the fourth Champions League spot, joining City, Arsenal and Liverpool in Europe’s top-tier competition next season.
The build-up to the game in north London was dominated by a fierce debate over whether home fans wanted their own team to lose in order to leave City in the driving seat, with Arsenal their nearest challengers.
The Spurs supporters made their feelings toward their bitter local rivals clear in the opening minutes, with chants of “Stand up if you hate Arsenal” ringing around the stadium.
Both sides settled quickly and Spurs had the first sight of goal when a raking ball from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg found Brennan Johnson on the right.
Johnson squared for Rodrigo Bentancur, who unleashed a fierce shot that Ederson tipped over.
Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario kept out Phil Foden’s close-range shot after 15 minutes with a strong right hand.
City, who came into the match on an unbeaten run of 21 matches, were short of their fluent best while Spurs struggled to put the finishing touches to their attacking moves.
The game opened up toward the end of the first period, with City defender Josko Gvardiol flashing a shot over the bar from a tight angle but the sides finished the opening 45 minutes with just one shot on target apiece.
Moments after the re-start Vicario was forced to dive full length to keep out a stinging De Bruyne effort while Son Heung-min went close at the other end after being found by Johnson.
But City broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when Bernardo Silva found De Bruyne in the box and the Belgian crossed for Haaland to slot home from point-blank range.
Thousands of Spurs fans chanted “Are you watching Arsenal” as the City fans celebrated in their corner.
The game then became disjointed as first De Bruyne was hurt by a Pape Sarr tackle on his ankle before Ederson took a blow to the head in denying Cristian Romero and was replaced minutes later by Stefan Ortega.
The German was called into action immediately, keeping out substitute Dejan Kulusevski’s close-range shot with his legs.
The visitors’ hearts were in their mouths when Son burst through with five minutes of normal time remaining but Ortega saved with his legs when he seemed likely to score.
Guardiola fell to the ground, clutching his head in disbelief.
Instead City were awarded a penalty when Pedro Porro brought down substitute Jeremy Doku and Haaland smashed home in the 91st minute to spark wild celebrations from the players in front of the City faithful, taking his league tally to 27 goals for the season.
Last year’s treble winners will prepare for Sunday’s finale knowing they stand just 90 minutes away from creating another slice of football history.
Israeli forces repeatedly target Gaza aid workers, says Human Rights Watch
- They are among more than 250 aid workers who have been killed in Gaza since the war erupted more than seven months ago, according to UN figures
- Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory
JERUSALEM: Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday that Israel had repeatedly targeted known aid worker locations in Gaza, even after their coordinates were provided to Israeli authorities to ensure their protection.
The rights watchdog said that it had identified eight cases where aid convoys and premises were targeted, killing at least 15 people, including two children.
They are among more than 250 aid workers who have been killed in Gaza since the war erupted more than seven months ago, according to UN figures.
In all eight cases, the organizations had provided the coordinates to Israeli authorities, HRW said.
This reveals “fundamental flaws with the so-called deconfliction system, meant to protect aid workers and allow them to safely deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance in Gaza,” it said.
“On one hand, Israel is blocking access to critical lifesaving humanitarian provisions and on the other, attacking convoys that are delivering some of the small amount that they are allowing in,” Belkis Wille, HRW’s associate crisis, conflict and arms director, said in Tuesday’s statement.
HRW highlighted the case of the World Central Kitchen, a US-based charity who saw seven of its aid workers killed by an Israeli strike on their convoy on April 1.
This was not an isolated “mistake,” HRW said, pointing to the other seven cases it had identified where GPS coordinates of aid convoys and premises had been sent to Israeli authorities, only to see them attacked by Israeli forces “without any warning.”
NCWD launches project to evaluate marine species in Arabian Gulf
- Goal behind project is to build baseline for developing integrated management plan for marine environments
- NCWD CEO said project aims to provide basic assessment of the condition of coral reefs
RIYADH: The National Center for Wildlife Development launched on Tuesday a project that aims to assess the state of marine habitats in the Arabian Gulf’s Saudi waters, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The NCWD said the goal behind the project was to build a baseline for developing an integrated management plan for marine environments, preserving biodiversity and reducing threats.
It will also enhance the sustainability of marine environments in Saudi waters in light of their economic, social and cultural value and their provision of many valuable ecosystem services.
Mohammed Ali Qurban, NCWD’s CEO, said the project aimed to provide a basic assessment of the condition of coral reefs, seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, and associated animals and marine species.
The project will identify natural risks associated with human activities that threaten these coastal ecosystems, and concurrently, find solutions to reduce those threats.
It will also design an effective plan to preserve and rehabilitate these coastal habitats, based on the data provided by the project.
Qurban said Saudi waters in the Gulf cover an area exceeding 27,000 square kilometers and contain very important marine habitats, which support a wide range of marine species.
NCWD’s CEO pointed out that marine systems are exposed to many pressures and require continuous monitoring and the application of an effective plan to preserve and manage them in a sustainable manner.
The data provided by the project constitute an essential factor for conservation and rehabilitation measures and enabling NCWD and other relevant parties to build a management plan to sustain these valuable habitats.
EU top diplomat sees US ‘fatigue’ in Mideast
- Josep Borrell strongly criticized Israel’s war campaign, saying Gazans were ‘dying and starving and suffering in unimaginable proportions’ and that it was a ‘man-made disaster’
- Josep Borrell: ‘I see a certain fatigue from the US side to continue engaging in looking for a solution’
SAN FRANCISCO: The European Union’s top diplomat has said that the United States is showing “fatigue” in its Middle East diplomacy and called for greater EU efforts toward a Palestinian state.
On a visit to California, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell again strongly criticized Israel’s war campaign, saying Gazans were “dying and starving and suffering in unimaginable proportions” and that it was a “man-made disaster.”
“I see a certain fatigue from the US side to continue engaging in looking for a solution,” Borrell said in a speech Monday at Stanford University that was publicly released on Tuesday.
“We are trying to push with the Arab people in order to build together, the Arabs and Europeans, to make this two-state solution a reality,” he said in English.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made seven trips to the Middle East since the unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas which prompted a relentless Israeli military campaign in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
He has nudged Israel to allow in more aid, pushed against a regional escalation and pleaded for Israel to accept a two-state solution as part of a broader eventual deal that includes normalization with Saudi Arabia.
But the United States vetoed a Security Council bid to give Palestine full UN membership, arguing that statehood can only come though negotiations that address Israel’s security concerns.
The General Assembly last week passed a symbolic vote for Palestinian membership with the United States one of only nine countries to vote against.
The others opposed included two European Union members — the Czech Republic and Hungary. Among EU heavyweights, France voted in favor and Germany abstained.
Borrell acknowledged that the vote showed the European Union was “very much divided” over Gaza, unlike on the Ukraine war, and cited “historical reasons.”
“But it doesn’t mean that we don’t have to take a stronger part of responsibility because we have delegated (to) the US looking for a solution,” he said.
Borrell, a former Spanish foreign minister, in February sharply criticized the US arms flow for Israel, pointing to President Joe Biden’s own words that too many people were dying in Gaza.
Biden last week for the first time threatened to cut military aid to Israel, with one shipment of bombs already halted, if Israel defies US warnings and assaults the packed city of Rafah.
