12/07/2025

SATURDAY | JULY 12, 2025

10

Ten rescued after deadly Houthi ship sinking

Franco-German teen cyclist held in Iran PARIS: Iran has detained a Franco-German national on a Europe-to-Asia cycle trip who disappeared in the country on June 16, Iran’s foreign minister said on Thursday. The French Foreign Ministry, which has accused Iran of pursuing a deliberate policy of detaining foreigners to use as bargaining chips, has expressed concern over the fate of Lennart Monterlos. France and a number of other countries have urged their citizens not to go to Iran because of the risk of detention. Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said an “official notification” about Monterlos had been sent to the French embassy in Tehran. He said Monterlos “has been arrested for committing an offence”. French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou urged Iran to not “persecute the innocent who are unaware of the risks they face”. The French Foreign Ministry said it is in contact with Iranian authorities and the teenager’s family. French academics Cecile Kohler, 40, and Jacques Paris, 72, are also being held on charges of spying for Israel and could face the death penalty. They were detained on May 7, 2022 on the final day of a holiday in Iran. French President Emmanuel Macron last week threatened Iran with “retaliation measures” if the pair was not released. Relations between Paris and Tehran have been tense, with Iran accusing the West of not doing enough to condemn Israel’s recent strikes. – AFP

the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, had paused their attacks after a Gaza ceasefire started in January. Houthi-held areas of Yemen came under weeks of heavy bombardment by the United States before a ceasefire was agreed in May. The rebels told AFP at the time that they would continue to attack “Israeli” ships. The Magic Seas and Eternity C were probably attacked “due to prior Israeli port calls or ownership/ship manager affiliations”, according to the Joint Maritime Information Centre, run by Western navies. United Nations envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg expressed “grave concern” over the latest attacks that resulted in “civilian loss of life and casualties as well as the potential for environmental damage”. While the Magic Seas crew was rescued by an Emirati ship, the attack on the Eternity C was the deadliest since three people were killed in a missile attack on the True Confidence in March last year. Other Houthi attacks include the storming and hijacking of vehicle carrier Galaxy Leader in November 2023, and the sinking of the Rubymar carrying 21,000 tonnes of fertiliser in February 2024. – AFP

commercial vessel in the Red Sea in recent days and threatened a May truce with the United States that ended weeks of air strikes on Houthi targets. Rebel leader Abdel Malek al-Huthi said both ships belonged to companies serving Israeli ports, adding that the attacks would continue “as long as the (Israeli) aggression and siege of Gaza persist”. The Houthis released a video showing the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier being attacked and sunk, their second sinking of a cargo ship after they scuttled the Magic Seas on Sunday. A total of 25 people were onboard the Eternity C, according to Operation Aspides. On Tuesday, the force told AFP that three people were killed in the attack and at least two wounded, including a Russian electrician who lost a leg. The two sinkings broke a months-long lull in Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, which began after the start of the Gaza war in 2023. The attacks, which the Houthis say target Israel-linked shipping in solidarity with Palestinians, have prompted many firms to avoid a route that normally carries about 12% of global trade. The Houthis, who control large swathes of

DUBAI: Ten people have been rescued after Yemen Houthis sank a cargo ship, a European Union (EU) naval force said on Thursday, with three killed and 12 missing in one of the rebel group’s deadliest Red Sea attacks. Three Filipino crew members and a Greek member of the Eternity C onboard security team were plucked from the sea, “bringing the total number of those rescued to 10”, said the EU Operation Aspides naval task force on X. On Wednesday, the Iran-backed Houthis said they had “rescued” an unspecified number of the Eternity C crew and taken them to a safe location. The US embassy for Yemen accused the rebels of kidnapping the survivors. The attack was the second assault on a o Crew and member of security team plucked from sea after deadliest rebel attack since March last year

Russia, US hold ‘frank’ talks on Ukraine conflict

A student playing the

KYIV: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US top diplomat Marco Rubio held “frank” talks on the Ukraine war during a meeting on Thursday, both sides said, as Washington hit out at Moscow’s lack of “flexibility”. The US secretary of state said Lavrov shared new ideas on resolving the conflict, which he promised to present to US President Donald Trump, but played down the prospect of a breakthrough. The pair met hours after Moscow pummeled Kyiv for a second straight night and as the United Nations (UN) said the number of victims from Russian attacks was at its highest level in three years. Trump this week accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of talking “bullshit” on Ukraine. His efforts to secure a ceasefire have failed to extract any concessions from the Kremlin, despite multiple calls with Putin. Rubio said Lavrov’s ideas were not something that “automatically leads to peace, but it could potentially open the door to a path”. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the United States would deliver more weapons to Kyiv and he had “specific dates” on when they would arrive, in response to an AFP question. He said Ukraine was “ready” for different approaches to “scale up protection”, including by “purchasing a large defence package from the United States, jointly with Europe”. Trump seemed to support such an agreement in an interview with American broadcaster NBC on Thursday when he said Nato was “paying” the United States for weapons to send to Ukraine. “We are sending weapons to Nato and Nato is paying for those

weapons, 100%. Nato is going to be giving those weapons (to Ukraine).“ He also said he would make a “major statement on Russia” on Monday. Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he had spoken with Trump and was “working closely with allies to get Ukraine the help they need”. The leaders of Britain and France also announced that they had prepared plans for a peacekeeping force to be deployed to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. Ukraine said a 22-year-old policewoman on duty at a metro station and a 68-year-old woman were killed in the latest assault on the capital. During a conference in Rome, Zelensky called for more international political and military support. He said Putin wanted “our people to suffer, to flee Ukraine, and for homes, schools, for life itself to be destroyed”, urging Western leaders to boost defence investments. The Kremlin denied that peace talks were stalled and said it was open to contacts. Moscow has for months refused a ceasefire and two rounds of talks with Ukraine have produced no breakthrough. The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 415 drones and missiles at the country while Zelensky urged allies to quickly roll out fresh sanctions against Moscow. The fresh onslaught came just one night after Russia fired a record 741 long-range drones and missiles. Officials said the nighttime attack on Kyiv wounded 22 people. Russia’s Defence Ministry said the strike targeted “military-industrial enterprises” in Kyiv as well as airbases. – AFP

violin during a music class in a camp for displaced Palestinians in the northern Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza. – AFPPIC

Israel sets out red lines for end to war in Gaza

JERUSALEM: Israel is ready to negotiate a lasting deal with Hamas to end the Gaza war when a temporary halt to hostilities begins, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. But he said the Islamist militants must first give up their weapons and their hold on the Palestinian territory, warning that failure to reach a deal on Israel’s terms would lead to further conflict. His comments come as Gaza’s civil defence agency said eight children were among 66 people who died in Israeli strikes across the territory on Thursday, killed as they queued for nutritional supplements outside a health clinic. Efforts to secure a 60-day halt in the 21-month war have dominated Netanyahu’s talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington. Indirect negotiations have been taking place between the two sides in Qatar, and the militants have agreed to free 10 of the 20 hostages still alive

neutralising Hamas are “fundamental conditions” for Israel. “If this cannot be achieved through negotiations within 60 days, we will have to achieve it through other means, by using the force of our heroic army.” Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim told AFP that it would not accept “the perpetuation of the occupation of our land” or Palestinians being herded into “isolated enclaves” in the densely populated territory. The group was opposed to Israeli control over Rafah, on the border with Egypt, and the so-called Morag Corridor between the southern city and Khan Younis, he added. Israel announced this year that the army was seizing large areas of Gaza to be incorporated into buffer zones cleared of their inhabitants. Naim said the group also wants to end the delivery of aid by a US and Israel-backed group, a system that has seen scores of people killed while seeking food rations. – AFP

in captivity. Sticking points include Hamas’s demand for the free flow of aid into Gaza, Israel’s military withdrawal from the territory and“real guarantees”on a lasting peace, the group said. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said “progress has been made” but ironing out “all complex issues” would likely take “a few more days”. He said there was no agreement on the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for hostages. He added that “initially, eight hostages are to be released, followed by two more on the 50th day” of the 60-day ceasefire while “18 bodies of hostages are to be handed over“. Saar said a lasting ceasefire would be discussed but “there are still major differences, especially regarding how Hamas will be prevented from controlling Gaza after the war”. He said Israel is ready to grant Hamas leaders safe passage into exile. Netanyahu said disarming and