24/05/2025

SATURDAY | MAY 24, 2025

/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

ON TELEGRAM m RAM

10

Suspect in Jewish museum shooting charged WASHINGTON: The suspect accused of gunning down two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington was charged on Thursday with murder as international tensions over antisemitism erupted over the attack. Elias Rodriguez, 31, shouted “Free Palestine” as he was taken away by police on Wednesday, prosecutors said in a court document. “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,“ he told the officers. He made an initial court appearance on Thursday after being charged with two counts of first-degree murder and murder of foreign officials. If convicted, he could receive the death penalty. Authorities are investigating the shooting “as an act of terrorism and a hate crime“, said District of Columbia interim US attorney Jeanine Pirro. “I suspect that as we go forward there will be more charges added,“ she said. She added that a preliminary hearing was set for June 18. The shooting has triggered international outrage and finger-pointing as Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar blamed European criticism of his country’s stepped-up Gaza offensive, claiming “a direct line connecting antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder”. French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine called the accusation “completely outrageous and unjustified”. Israel identified the victims as Israeli citizen Yaron Lischinsky and US employee of the embassy Sarah Lynn Milgrim, and said they were a couple planning to marry. According to court documents, Rodriguez approached his victims, who were facing away from him, and fired 21 rounds. He shot multiple times at the couple after they were on the ground and fired at Milgram as she tried to crawl away. On Thursday, mourners gathered at the museum in Washington to sing and pray. – AFP

50 killed as Israel continues strikes: Rescuers

o Military acting with ‘intense force’ in 14 areas of northern Gaza Strip

GAZA: Plumes of smoke rose on Thursday over the northern Gaza Strip, where Israel’s military urged civilians to evacuate, as rescuers said Israeli strikes across the territory killed more than 50 people. The latest evacuation warning for parts of Gaza and neighbouring areas came hours after the United Nations (UN) said it had begun distributing around 90 truckloads of aid in Gaza. The World Food Programme (WFP) said a “handful of bakeries” had resumed making and distributing bread while the UN said some trucks were “intercepted” by residents. In an Arabic-language statement on Thursday, the Israeli military said it was acting “with intense force” in 14 areas of the northern Gaza Strip, including parts of Gaza City and the Jabalia refugee camp. A map posted alongside the TEHRAN: US negotiators met in Rome yesterday for a fifth round of nuclear talks after a public disagreement over Tehran’s uranium enrichment. The last round of talks, in the Omani capital Muscat, ended with a public spat over enrichment. Ahead of yesterday’s talks, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said “differences” remain with the United States, adding that Tehran is open to its nuclear sites undergoing more inspections. Iranian and

warning showed a swath of territory marked in red, with the army accusing “terrorist organisations” of operating there and urging civilians to move south. In Gaza, the Hamas government media office reported the arrival of 87 aid trucks. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said: “A small number of trucks carrying flour were intercepted by residents and their contents removed.” He said it “was not a criminal act with armed men” but “what I have been referring to sometimes as self-distribution, which I think only reflects the very high level of anxiety that people in Gaza are feeling, not knowing when the next humanitarian delivery will occur”.

Residents in Gaza watch from a distance as a building burns after and Israeli strike. – REUTERSPIC

trucks were finally able to collect cargo from the Kerem Shalom border crossing and deliver it,” WFP said in a statement. Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that “52 martyrs” were killed in Israeli air strikes on Thursday. The leaders of Britain, Canada

and France slammed the escalation, warning of the possibility of “concrete actions in response”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the leaders “may think that they are advancing peace. They are not. They are emboldening Hamas to continue fighting forever”. – AFP

“A handful of bakeries in south and central Gaza have resumed bread production after dozens of Iran and US hold nuclear talks in Rome

called “snapback” if Iran fails to fulfil its commitments. The agreement’s European signatories, namely Britain, France and Germany, have warned that they would trigger the mechanism if the continent’s security was threatened. Araghchi said such a move would have “consequences, not only the end of Europe’s role in the agreement, but also an escalation of tensions that could become irreversible”. – AFP

Experts in Tehran said Iran is unlikely to back down. “If the United States expects Iran to halt nuclear enrichment, then there cannot be a deal,“ said political scientist Mohammad Marandi. The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran said the country’s nuclear industry employs 17,000 people, similar to other countries where uranium is enriched for civilian use. The 2015 deal provides for the possibility of UN sanctions being reimposed through a mechanism

The talks come ahead of a June meeting of the United Nations (UN) nuclear watchdog, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, and the October expiry of the 2015 accord. In return for curbs on its nuclear programme, Iran had received relief from international sanctions. But the accord was torpedoed in 2018 when US President Donald Trump withdrew the United States. Iran responded by ramping up its nuclear activities.