BEIRUT: Hundreds of members of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, including fighters and medics, were seriously wounded on Tuesday when the pagers they use to communicate exploded, a security source told Reuters.
A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the detonation of the pagers was the “biggest security breach” the group had been subjected to in nearly a year of war with Israel.
The explosions took place amid heightened violence between Israel and Hezbollah, who have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the Gaza war erupted last October in the worst such escalation in years.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military to Reuters enquiries about the detonations.
A Reuters journalist saw ambulances rushing through the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut amid widespread panic. Residents said explosions were taking place even 30 minutes after the initial blasts. The security source added that devices were also exploding in the south of Lebanon.
Groups of people huddled at the entrance of buildings to check on people they knew who may have been wounded, the Reuters journalist said.
Regional broadcasters carrying CCTV footage which showed what appeared to be a small handheld device placed next to a grocery store cashier where an individual was paying spontaneously exploding. In other footage, an explosion appeared to knock out someone standing at a fruit stand at a market area.
Lebanon’s crisis operations center, which is run by the health ministry, asked all medical workers to head to their respective hospitals to help cope with the massive numbers of wounded coming into for urgent care. It said health care workers should not use pagers.
Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel immediately after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas gunmen on Israel. Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire constantly ever since, while avoiding a major escalation as war rages in Gaza to the south.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced from towns and villages on both sides of the border by the hostilties.
Hundreds of Hezbollah members wounded in Lebanon when pagers explode, security source says
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Hundreds of Hezbollah members wounded in Lebanon when pagers explode, security source says
Kenya is ‘in total disarray’: opposition candidate Martha Karua
- A spokesman for the presidency said abductions and killings were strictly a police matter
- Karua was justice minister in the mid-2000s under late president Mwai Kibaki
NAIROBI: Martha Karua, among the first to declare a run for the Kenyan presidency in 2027, told AFP the country is in “total disarray” due to corruption, police killings and economic decline.
Karua served in government in the 2000s and, as a lawyer, has lately represented jailed opposition figures in neighboring Tanzania and Uganda.
She hopes to harness the “anger and frustration” against Kenya’s President William Ruto, which spilt onto the streets last year in mass protests against tax rises and corruption.
“We are in total disarray. It’s as if our constitution has been suspended,” she told AFP in an interview in Nairobi.
“We have abductions, arbitrary arrests... extrajudicial killings... And the police and authorities fail to take responsibility.”
Rights groups say at least 60 people were killed during the protests in June and July, and at least 89 abducted since then, with 29 still missing.
Police deny involvement, but there has been limited progress in investigating the incidents.
“Ruto was a great mistake right from the start. Those of us who have worked with him and know him, knew that he would be a disaster,” said Karua.
A spokesman for the presidency said abductions and killings were strictly a police matter.
Karua ran against Ruto in the 2022 election as the vice presidential candidate on a ticket with veteran leader Raila Odinga.
She is now part of a broad grouping of opposition figures manoeuvring for the next vote in 2027.
Her first priority would be to “plug the leakages” and bring Kenya’s debt under control, she said.
Massive borrowing has left Kenya with some $85 billion in debt, forcing it to pay more in interest payments than it does on health and education.
“Fighting corruption is the only lifeline we have,” Karua told AFP.
“(Otherwise) whatever we collect, whatever we borrow, will still be lost and we will never be able to pull Kenyans out of their misery.”
Karua was justice minister in the mid-2000s under late president Mwai Kibaki.
She said that government had led a successful push against corruption, though admitted that it “did come back toward the end.”
Karua resigned from that government in 2009, accusing some of her colleagues of opposing reforms.
Now, Karua finds herself aligned with several opposition figures that have shady reputations.
When asked, she did not deny it, but said: “The task of dislodging a government that does not play by the rules is a mammoth task. We need all hands.”
She added it was up to the public to choose “the most competent and suitable” to lead the opposition into the election.
Karua worries about unrest and rigging in 2027, however. Previous elections have been marred by extreme violence.
Ruto himself was charged by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity over violence that erupted after the 2007 vote.
The case was eventually dropped for lack of evidence, with the court citing witness intimidation and political meddling.
Karua accused Ruto of hiring gangs of “thugs” for a recent rally in Nairobi — to “sort out anybody who appears to either boo or jeer” — which led to huge numbers of muggings and violent attacks on passers-by.
“I know it will get worse. They will use public coffers at the expense of vital services like health, education and security,” she said.
The presidency spokesman said Ruto “never hires or pays people to attend his public meetings.”
“Martha Karua and her team created a similar lie in the run up to the last election,” the spokesman said. “They lost it because they believed in their own lies. They are headed for a similar and more resounding defeat.”
But Karua claimed the president will make the upcoming election “nasty.”
“The only way we can overcome Ruto’s manipulation of the electoral system is to have a flood of votes, overwhelming numbers which no amount of manipulation can work on,” she said.
After Spain’s blackout, questions about renewable energy are back
- The European Union’s fourth-largest economy generated 56 percent of its electricity last year from renewables
- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has stressed that his government would not deviate from its energy transition plans
MADRID: The massive power outage that hit the Iberian peninsula on April 28 has reignited a debate in Spain over the country’s plan to phase out its nuclear reactors as it generates more power with renewable energy.
As people wait for answers about what caused the historic power cut, which abruptly disrupted tens of millions of lives, some are questioning the wisdom of decommissioning nuclear reactors that provide a stable, if controversial, form of energy compared to renewables, whose output can be intermittent.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has rejected such criticism, asking for patience while the government investigates what caused the grid’s disconnection. He said that his government would not “deviate a single millimeter” from its energy transition plans.
Here’s what to know about the energy debate:
What is nuclear power and why is it controversial?
Nuclear power is a zero-carbon energy source formed from nuclear fission, when the nuclei of atoms are split into two or several parts, releasing energy.
It accounts for about 10 percent of electricity generation worldwide, according to the International Energy Association.
Many countries consider nuclear power critical to reaching their net-zero goals. But while nuclear reactors do not emit planet-warming greenhouse gases like gas- or coal-fired power plants, they produce radioactive waste that even advanced economies have struggled to dispose.
Why does Spain want to decommission its nuclear reactors?
Spain generated nearly 57 percent of its electricity in 2024 from renewable energy sources like wind, hydropower and solar, according to Red Eléctrica, the country’s grid operator. About 20 percent came from nuclear power plants.
In 2019, Sánchez’s government approved a plan to decommission the country’s remaining nuclear reactors between 2027 and 2035 as it expands its share of renewable energy even further. The country aims to generate 81 percent of its electricity by 2030 from renewable sources.
Sánchez on Wednesday said that the four nuclear facilities that were online the day of the blackout did not help re-power the grid.
Batteries and other methods help regulate changes in electricity supply from wind and solar.
Why is Spain’s renewables push being questioned now?
While the cause of the sudden outage on April 28 is still unknown, the event has raised questions about the technical challenges facing electricity grids running on high levels of solar and wind.
Solar and wind provided roughly 70 percent of the electricity on the grid moments before Spain lost 15 gigawatts of electricity — about 60 percent of its supply — in just five seconds.
Electricity grids were designed for a different era, according to Gilles Thonet, deputy secretary general of the International Electrotechnical Commission, an industry group.
“Traditionally, power flowed in one direction: from large coal, gas or nuclear plants to homes and businesses,” Thonet said. “These plants provided not only electricity, but also stability. Their spinning turbines acted like shock absorbers, smoothing out fluctuations in supply and demand.”
In the days following the blackout, Google searches in Spain for “nuclear” spiked, according to data from Google Trends.
Spain’s nuclear lobby group Foro Nuclear said this week that the government should rethink its plan to decommission its nuclear reactors after the outage. Ignacio Araluce, its president, said the nuclear plants online before the outage “provide firmness and stability.”
Would more nuclear power have prevented a blackout?
Others say it is too soon to draw conclusions about what role nuclear energy should play.
“We do not know the cause of the oscillations,” said Pedro Fresco, director general of Avaesen, an association of renewable energy and clean technology firms in Valencia. “Therefore, we do not know what would have allowed them to be controlled.”
Spain’s grid operator last week narrowed down the source of the outage to two separate incidents in which substations in southwestern Spain failed.
Environment Minister Sara Aagesen said earlier this week that the grid had initially withstood another power generation outage in southern Spain 19 seconds before the blackout.
Sánchez in his speech to Parliament said there was “no empirical evidence” to show that more nuclear power on the grid could have prevented a blackout or allowed the country to get back online faster. In fact, the four nuclear facilities online on April 28 before the blackout were taken offline after the outage as part of emergency protocol to avoid overheating.
He said that nuclear energy “has not been shown to be an effective solution in situations like what we experienced on April 28,” and called the debate surrounding his government’s nuclear phase-out plan “a gigantic manipulation.”
Gas and hydropower, as well as electricity transfers from Morocco and France, were used to get the country’s grid back online.
Putin gears up to host world leaders at lavish army parade
- The two most important guests this year are China’s Xi Jinping and Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
- The period between 1939 and 1941, when the Soviet Union had a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany, is glossed over in official history books
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin will host a lavish World War II Victory Day parade in Moscow on Friday, an event the Kremlin hopes will rally patriotism at home and project strength abroad as its troops fight in Ukraine.
More than 20 foreign dignitaries, including China’s Xi Jinping and Slovakia’s Robert Fico, are scheduled to attend the annual parade this year, the fourth since Moscow launched a full-scale military assault on its neighbor in 2022.
Officials promise that commemorations this year — the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany — will be the “biggest” ever, with Putin ordering a “humanitarian” truce with Ukraine over the holiday.
Ukraine, which has dismissed the truce as a farce, has called the events in Russia a “parade of cynicism” and warned that it cannot guarantee the safety of world leaders attending.
The festival will be marked with a massive parade of military equipment and soldiers through Red Square, culminating in an address by Putin.
Since sending troops into Ukraine, Putin has frequently drawn parallels between Russia’s modern-day army and the Soviet soldiers who fought Nazi Germany.
At a dinner in honor of visiting foreign leaders, Putin proposed a toast to “victory.”
Russia began its assault on Ukraine in February 2022, hoping to take the country in days, but has since become embroiled in a huge, bloody conflict that has killed tens of thousands.
Security has been tight in Moscow, where organizers have banned attendees from bringing vape pens, electric scooters or “any animals” to the Victory Parade.
Authorities have also jammed mobile Internet connections in the capital, citing the threat of Ukrainian attacks.
Putin unilaterally ordered a three-day truce for the duration of the holiday, starting Thursday, but Ukraine has accused Russia of breaking it hundreds of times.
Ukrainian authorities reported strikes in the southern city of Kherson and the central Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, with two people wounded.
Kyiv argues the parade has “nothing to do with the victory over Nazism” and that those marching on Red Square were “quite likely” implicit in crimes against Ukrainians.
The two most important guests this year are China’s Xi Jinping and Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Despite warnings from Brussels, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will also attend — the only leader from the European Union taking part.
Aleksandar Vucic, president of Serbia, a country with historically strong ties to Moscow, will also join.
The day before the parade, Xi and Putin met in the Kremlin, where the two held talks for more than three hours.
After their meeting, Putin addressed the Chinese leader as his “dear friend,” while the two issued messages of defiance toward the West.
World War II is officially remembered in Russia as the “Great Patriotic War,” beginning with Germany’s surprise invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 and ending with Germany’s capitulation in 1945.
The period between 1939 and 1941, when the Soviet Union had a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany, is glossed over in official history books.
The war had a devastating impact on the Soviet Union, resulting in more than 20 million civilian and military deaths.
Throughout his quarter-century in power, Putin has tapped into this national trauma, making May 9 Russia’s most important public holiday and championing his army as defenders against fascism.
Authorities banned criticism of the military weeks after the Ukraine offensive began, and have since charged thousands in the biggest domestic crackdown in Russia’s post-Soviet history.
School textbooks introduced since the offensive refer to Ukraine as an “ultra-nationalist state,” likening it to the Nazi occupation government that ruled the country between 1941 and 1944.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has called Putin’s claims that Russia needs to “de-Nazify” Ukraine “incomprehensible.”
In a symbolic show of support for Kyiv to coincide with the parade, Ukraine’s Western backers are expected on Friday to sign off on the creation of a special tribunal to try Russia’s top leadership over its military offensive at a meeting in Lviv.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also announced new sanctions targeting Russia’s so-called shadow fleet ahead of a meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) in Norway on Friday, with support for Ukraine set to be on the agenda.
Oil Updates — prices up ahead of Sino-US trade meeting
NEW DELHI: Oil prices were up slightly on Friday, after rising about 3 percent in the previous session, as trade tensions between top oil consumers US and China showed signs of easing and Britain announced a “breakthrough” trade deal with the White House.
Brent crude rose 23 cents, or 0.37 percent, to $63.07 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 21 cents, or 0.35 percent, at $60.12 a barrel as of 8:07 a.m. Saudi time. On Thursday, both contracts settled nearly 3 percent up.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet China’s top economic official Vice Premier He Lifeng in Switzerland on May 10 to work toward resolving trade disputes that have threatened growth in the consumption of crude oil.
“If the two set a date to start formal trade negotiations and agree to ratchet down their current steep tariffs against each other while talks carry on, markets will get a breather and crude could stack on another $2-$3 per barrel,” said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.
China’s exports rose faster than expected in April, while imports narrowed their declines, customs data showed on Friday, giving Beijing some relief ahead of ice-breaker tariff talks with the US this weekend.
Separately, US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Britain had agreed to lower tariffs on US imports to 1.8 percent from 5.1 percent.
The US cut duties on British cars but left a 10 percent tariff on most other goods.
“Any more US trade deals after the one with UK with other major trading partners would have only a marginal impact on oil sentiment,” Hari added.
Elsewhere, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies — or OPEC+ — plan to increase output which could keep pressure on oil prices. A Reuters survey found OPEC oil output edged lower in April as production declines in Libya, Venezuela and Iraq outweighed a scheduled increase in output.
Tighter US sanctions on Iran could restrict supply and push prices higher. Sanctions on two small Chinese refiners for buying Iranian oil made it difficult for them to receive crude and led them to sell their product under alternative names, sources told Reuters on Thursday.
In the meantime, Pakistan’s armed forces launched “multiple attacks” along India’s entire western border on Thursday night and early Friday, the Indian army said, as conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors intensified.
Rystad Energy analysts expected both countries to increase crude procurement and refinery activity amid mounting tensions.
“Diesel demand is likely to rise amid increased military mobilization, while airline fuel consumption declines as airspace closures lead to rerouted flights, cancelations and soaring airline ticket prices,” Rystad’s Rohan Goindi said in a note.
In terms of daily crude demand, India consumes 5.4 million barrels per day, compared to Pakistan’s 0.25 million bpd, according to Rystad Energy estimates.
Pakistan moves T20 league, India’s IPL awaits government advice
- IPL organizers have said they are awaiting government advice before determining the fate of the remainder of the hugely popular Twenty20 tournament
NEW DELHI: The Pakistan Super League (PSL) will move its remaining matches to the United Arab Emirates in the wake of Pakistan’s ongoing conflict with India, the country’s cricket board chief Mohsin Naqvi said on Friday.
Thursday’s PSL match in Rawalpindi was postponed amid escalating hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbors, and Naqvi said the decision to move the last eight games was made to ensure players avoid “possible reckless targeting.”
Across the border, India’s cricket board is considering suspending the Indian Premier League (IPL) amid the rising tensions, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
IPL organizers have said they are awaiting government advice before determining the fate of the remainder of the hugely popular Twenty20 tournament.
“The PCB has always stood by the position that politics and sports need to be kept apart,” Naqvi, also Pakistan’s interior minister, said in a statement.
“As a responsible organization that has overcome adversities repeatedly and ensured that the game of cricket flourishes, it was important for us to ensure the mental well-being of all players participating in the PSL.”
India’s cricket board (BCCI) has moved Sunday’s IPL match in Dharamsala near the Pakistan border to Ahmedabad in the west. A match at the same venue in the northern city was abandoned midway due to what officials said was a power failure.
Vice president Rajeev Shukla said they were waiting for government advice on Friday.
“The situation is changing day by day,” Shukla told the Indian Express newspaper.
“We will do whatever we are told and inform all stakeholders. At the moment, our priority is the safety of all players, fans and other stakeholders.”
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had told Reuters on Thursday that the IPL’s foreign players were “comfortable” to continue playing. He did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.
The two countries have been clashing since India struck multiple locations in Pakistan on Wednesday that it said were “terrorist camps” in retaliation for a deadly attack in its restive region of Kashmir last month, in which it said Islamabad was involved.
Pakistan denied the accusation but both countries have exchanged cross-border firing and shelling and sent drones and missiles into each other’s airspace since then, with nearly four dozen people dying in the violence.
