Biden pushed Gaza pier over warnings it would undercut other aid routes, watchdog says

WESTONARIA, South Africa: Rescuers on Friday pulled out all 260 mine workers who had been stuck for more than 24 hours in an underground shaft in South Africa, the mine’s operator said.
The miners were trapped underground on Thursday at the Kloof gold mine, 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of Johannesburg, after a hoist used to access the shaft was damaged in an accident, the mining company Sibanye-Stillwater said.
The first phase of the rescue brought 79 people to the surface by 1:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) while the rest were rescued six hours later, it said in a statement.
“At no point was there any risk of injury to employees during the incident,” it said. A decision had been made against using the emergency escape routes which would have involved the miners walking longer distances, it added.
The gold mine is one of the deepest operated by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company.
Desperate relatives of the miners waited outside the site during the rescue efforts, most of them expressing shock at the incident, local television footage showed.
“All affected employees will also undergo thorough medical examinations, if required, while support has also been extended to employees’ families,” the mining company said.
The National Union of Mineworkers said the incident happened around 10:00 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Thursday. It expressed concern for the miners who had been “underground for almost 20 hours.”
Sibanye-Stillwater had said earlier that the miners would be brought to the surface around midday Friday.
“The employees are not trapped; it was decided to keep them at the sub-shaft station for now,” spokesperson Henrika Ninham said.
Mining employs hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa, which is the biggest exporter of platinum and a major exporter of gold, diamonds, coal and other raw materials. But accidents are common.
Dozens of mineworkers are killed each year, though the numbers have been falling as safety standards have been stepped up over the past two decades.
According to industry group Minerals Council South Africa, 42 miners died in 2024, compared to 55 the previous year.
Sibanye-Stillwater chief executive Neal Froneman said Friday they would not resume operations “until we are confident that all the necessary remedial actions have been implemented.”

CHERNIGIV: Waxy and emaciated, Konstantin Steblev spoke to his mother for the first time in three years after being released as part of the biggest ever prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine.

“Hello mum, how are you?” the 31-year-old soldier said, moments after stepping back onto Ukrainian soil on Friday.

“I love you. Don’t be sad. It wasn’t my fault. I promised I would come back safe and sound,” he said, smiling but with watery eyes.

Steblev, who was captured at the start of Russia’s invasion, was one of 390 military and civilian prisoners released in exchange for 390 sent back to Russia.

More swaps are expected on Saturday and Sunday to bring the total to 1,000 for 1,000 as agreed in talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul last week.

Steblev arrived with the other former captives by coach at a local hospital where hundreds of relatives were waiting, shouting, crying and singing “Congratulations!”

During the journey back to Ukraine, Steblev said he experienced “indescribable” emotions.

“It’s simply crazy. Crazy feelings,” he said.

During his years of captivity, Steblev said he managed to keep going thanks to his wife.

“She knows I am strong and that I am not going to give up just like that,” he said, adding that now he just wants to be with his family.

“It’s my absolute priority,” he said.

After that, he said it would be up to his wife to decide on the next steps.

“She will tell me and will show me how to act in future,” he said.

Thin, tired and looking slightly lost, the freshly released prisoners filed into a local hospital for medical checks.

But Olena and Oleksandr stayed outside, locked in a tight embrace despite the cameras pointed at them.

They said they had not seen each other in 22 months since Oleksandr was captured by Russia.

“I am in seventh heaven,” the 45-year-old said in his wife’s arms.

He said his dream now was to “eat... eat and spend time with my family.”

As the buses arrived at the hospital, relatives of soldiers who are still in prison ran toward the freed men to show them images of their loved ones and ask if they had seen them during their captivity.

Some women walked away crying when they failed to get any news.

Some know that their relatives are jailed but others have no news at all and desperately hope for any scrap of information.

Moments after being reunited with her husband Andriy after three years apart, Elia, 33, embraced the tearful mother of a soldier who had no news about her son.

When she saw her husband, Elia said her “heart was beating out of my chest” and she cried with joy.

“I have been waiting so long for this,” she said.

Several former prisoners of war interviewed by AFP in the past have spoken of harsh conditions and torture in Russian prisons.

Elia is now thinking about the future and about having a child with her husband.

But she said she knew that the path to rehabilitation would be a long one for him.

“He has an empty stare but I know they did not break him. The guys with him told me he was very strong,” she said.