Kremlin condemns Ukrainian ‘terrorist attack’ targeting Belarusian children

Kremlin condemns Ukrainian ‘terrorist attack’ targeting Belarusian children

RT

The Kremlin has condemned as terrorism a Ukrainian drone strike on a bus carrying a Belarusian youth sports team. One woman was killed and several passengers wounded, including children, in the attack in Russia’s Bryansk Region on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed Health Minister Mikhail Murashko to ensure that all those injured “in the terrorist attack by the Kiev regime” receive the necessary medical assistance, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The attack on the bus, which was carrying 44 people, 28 of them children, was first reported by Bryansk Region’s acting governor, Egor Kovalchuk. Belarusian Deputy Health Minister Aleksandr Khodzhaev later said eight people, including six children, had been hospitalized.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also condemned the strike, accusing Kiev of targeting civilians and saying it was “hunting” children. She claimed Kiev puts minors in danger “without hesitation” and compared the latest case with a drone raid on a school dormitory in Starobelsk, which killed 21 people last month.

Commenting on the incident, Belarusian lawmaker Oleg Gaidukevich, deputy chairman of the parliament’s international affairs committee, said the attack was part of an increasing number of “extremist” actions by the Ukrainian military and regime.

“Both Russia and Belarus are capable of fighting terrorism and extremism. They... will always respond firmly and in accordance with the law,” he wrote on Telegram.

Russia’s human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, said the attack was a war crime under international humanitarian law, noting that “defenseless people... children” had been targeted.

Criminal investigations into the incident have been opened in both Russia and Belarus, with the authorities treating the attack as an act of terrorism.

Russia-Turkiye Relations on Rise - Putin

Russia-Turkiye Relations on Rise - Putin

Sputnik

Relations between Russia and Turkiye are developing on an upward trend, and Moscow is very pleased about this, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

"Relations between our countries are developing on the rise, and we are very pleased about this. Our contacts have long ceased to be purely formal; they are truly friendly and are increasingly filled with new meaning," Putin said at a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on the sidelines of the Russia-ASEAN summit in the Russian city of Kazan. 

Putin also proposed discussing current issues of interest to both countries during the meeting. 

The Russian president also conveyed his best wishes to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Fire Erupts At Massive Food Storage Warehouse In Southern California

Fire Erupts At Massive Food Storage Warehouse In Southern California

 TYLER DURDEN

A large fire is ripping through a massive cold-storage facility in Boyle Heights, Southern California, a critical node in the region's cold-food supply chain.

Local outlet KTLA reports the fire at Preferred Freezer Services, Big Bear #7, located at 1400 S. Los Palos St. in Los Angeles, was first reported around 2:35 p.m. local time.

"First-arriving units reported that fire was showing from the roof of the massive single-story building, which they estimated was about 1,000 feet by 500 feet," the local outlet stated.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this time, but this is not just another warehouse blaze. The facility is part of a major Southern California cold-chain node.

Big Bear #7 was built as a large refrigerated warehouse near I-5 and downtown Los Angeles, with roughly 95,000 pallet positions, 32 dock doors, and capacity for about 160 million pounds of product. It was designed to consolidate frozen goods under one roof for the Los Angeles market. 

In early April, a disgruntled employee at a one-million-square-foot Kimberly-Clark distribution center in Ontario, California, burned the warehouse down to the ground.

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Iran’s chief negotiator calls deal a ‘failure’ for US, says Tehran to charge Hormuz shipping fees after 60 days

Iran’s chief negotiator calls deal a ‘failure’ for US, says Tehran to charge Hormuz shipping fees after 60 days

AFP

Iran’s chief negotiator says the deal with Washington to end the Middle East war after more than three months is a “failure” for the United States.

“The agreement is a record of US failure. People will see it and judge,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says on state TV after the text was released by both sides.

He also repeats that Tehran will charge ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz after a 60-day fee-free period stipulated in the memorandum of understanding with the US.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says the “Strait of Hormuz will not return to pre-war conditions,” adding: “Iran has the right to sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and of course we will receive a fee for services.”

A 6.7-magnitude earthquake shakes part of Indonesia, killing at least 1, causing damage and injuries

A 6.7-magnitude earthquake shakes part of Indonesia, killing at least 1, causing damage and injuries

Associated Press

The strong shaking sent people fleeing into open areas in and around Palu, a city of about 400,000 people and the capital of Central Sulawesi province.

A 6.7-magnitude earthquake shook part of central Indonesia’s Sulawesi island Tuesday, killing at least one resident, injuring dozens of people, damaging homes and infrastructure and rattling residents of a city devastated by a quake and tsunami eight years ago, officials said.

The initial quake was centered inland about 27 miles east-southeast of Palu, and the U.S. Geological Survey said it was about 6 miles deep.

The strong shaking sent people fleeing into open areas in and around Palu, a city of about 400,000 people and the capital of Central Sulawesi province. Several hospitals evacuated patients, some with IV drips, outdoors as a safety measure.

Four regencies close to the epicenter — with a combined population of 1.3 million — have yet to be fully assessed. A preliminary report said at least 312 people have been displaced by the powerful earthquake. Also, one person died, 38 others were reported injured and rushed to a nearby hospital, including 13 with serious injuries in the hardest-hit Sigi regency, according to Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Management Agency’s spokesperson.

He said the earthquake also caused widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure, including 67 houses, six places of worship, four public facilities, two bridges, two government office buildings and three business sites. A section of a provincial road linking Palu city and its neighboring regencies of Sigi and Poso was cut.

“The earthquake shaking was extremely strong,” Palu resident Muhtar Ahmad said. “We are still traumatized by the previous earthquake, so we chose to remain outside because we are afraid that aftershocks may continue.”

Images from the area showed heavily damaged structures with partially collapsed roofs, shattered walls and debris scattered across the streets.

“We have evacuated all guests from the hotel, including several guests who remained in their rooms,” said Effendi Natali, a general manager of a four-star hotel in Palu.

“They all panicked, which is a natural reaction during an earthquake, but everyone is safe,” Natali said, adding that the hotel sustained only minor damage.

Many Sulawesi residents are haunted by the magnitude-7.5 earthquake that devastated Palu in 2018, setting off a 10-foot-high tsunami and a phenomenon called liquefaction in which soil collapses into itself. More than 4,000 people were killed, including many who were buried when whole neighborhoods were swallowed in the falling ground.