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Death toll in Kyiv rises, dulling hopes for peace

US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. Human rights groups have widely criticised Trump for his rhetoric during the war, including when he threatened to attack civilian infrastructure and destroy Iran’s entire civilisation, and when he said the US navy was acting “like pirates” to carry out a naval blockade of Iranian ports. – Reuters NEWYORK: UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday said the United States is providing the United Nations (UN) with US$1.8 billion (RM7.3 billion) for humanitarian purposes, adding that the money will help reach “millions of people with life-saving support”. The funds will help deliver aid to people caught up in the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, he said, reported German news agency dpa. In December, the United States gave US$2 billion to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha). US financial contributions to Ocha had at times been much higher, before President Donald Trump took office,. The United States continues to owe the financially hard-pressed UN billions in membership fees, around US$2 billion in the regular budget and around US$2.2 billion in the budget for peacekeeping missions, according to the UN. Trump has repeatedly criticised the UN. During his time in office, the United States has withdrawn from numerous UN organisations and pulled out of agreements under UN auspices. – Bernama-dpa Washington to give UN US$1.8 billion for relief

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi was sworn in here on Thursday with a partial Cabinet after lawmakers failed to reach consensus on several key posts, reported Xinhua. Parliament approved 14 members of al-Zaidi’s Cabinet while votes on the remaining portfolios were delayed amid ongoing political negotiations. During a session chaired by Speaker Haibet al-Halbousi, 266 lawmakers voted in favour of the 14 ministers, a parliamentary statement said. Among those approved were Fuad Hussein, who retained his post as Foreign minister, Basim Mohammed Khudair as Oil minister and Faleh al-Sari as Finance minister. Voting on other key ministries, including Defence and Interior, was postponed to allow more time for political consultations. Following the confidence vote, KYIV: emergency services said yesterday a massive Russian missile and drone attack that pummelled Kyiv the previous day killed at least 24 people, further shredding hopes of a halt to Moscow’s grinding invasion. The Ukrainian air force said Russia has launched 675 attack drones and 56 missiles, mainly at Kyiv, adding that its air defence units have downed 652 of the drones and 41 missiles. “Work is ongoing in Kyiv at the site of the strike on the building, where a Russian missile strike literally levelled a residential block from the first to the ninth floor,” he said in a Thursday evening address. Twenty-four people, including three children, were killed and 47 were wounded in the attacks, Ukraine’s emergency service said yesterday, updating a previous death toll. Seven bodies were pulled from the rubble of a single destroyed residential building, comprising three men, three women and a young girl, police said. Russian attacks also wounded people in the southern regions of Odesa and Kherson, and in the eastern region of Kharkiv. Ukraine said it shot down 94% of all drones and 73% of the missiles fired by Russia. “The most difficult challenge is defending against ballistic missiles.” Ukraine’s allies, including the United Kingdom, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, the Netherlands, Moldova and Slovakia, condemned the fatal attacks. “By bombing civilians, Russia Ukrainian WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said he would not be much more patient with Iran as he urged Tehran to reach a deal with Washington. He suggested that the quest to retrieve Iran’s enriched uranium was more about perception than security. “I am not going to be much more patient. They should make a deal,” he said in an interview aired on Thursday on Fox News’ Hannity programme. US

Andriy Sybiga. Russian drones on Thursday also struck a United Nations vehicle in the city of Kherson, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing Moscow of deliberately targeting it, but adding that there were no casualties. The two nations frequently exchange overnight aerial attacks, with the Russian military yesterday saying it shot down more than 300 Ukrainian drones overnight. “Aerial defence systems intercepted and destroyed 355 Ukrainian drones” targeting Moscow, border regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk between 2000 GMT on Thursday and 0400 GMT yesterday, the Russian Defence Ministry said. A Ukrainian drone attack also killed three people in the central Russian city of Ryazan, damaged high-rise apartment buildings and hit an industrial enterprise, said Regional Governor Pavel Malkov. “Three people have been killed and 12 injured, including children.” He said the drones damaged two high-rise apartment blocks and debris from falling drones fell on the territory of an industrial site, which he did not identify. – AFP enrich uranium up to 90% purity, a level considered weapons-grade. The more than five-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran remains fragile, with neither side appearing close to a deal to end the war that is also unpopular in the United States. The United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb 28. Tehran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases.

o United Kingdom, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Netherlands, Moldova and Slovakia condemn unrelenting attacks

residents cried as they waited for news of loved ones and neighbours. The barrage is the latest setback for efforts to end the conflict after US President Donald Trump raised faint hopes for peace by brokering a three-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow last week. Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin also suggested that the war could be winding down. But the brief truce was marred by allegations of violations and both sides resumed attacks straight after. Russia’s army fired more than 1,500 drones at Ukraine over Wednesday and Thursday, Kyiv’s air force said. “This barbaric attack during such an important summit shows that the Russian regime poses a global threat to international security. Instead of peace and development, Moscow pursues aggression and terror,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister uranium stockpile abroad and renounce domestic enrichment. Tehran, which does not have nuclear weapons, denies seeking them but emphasises that it has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran parliamentary spokesperson Ebrahim Rezaei said on Tuesday if Iran is attacked again, the country could

al-Zaidi and the 14 approved ministers took the constitutional oath before Parliament. Under Iraq’s Constitution, a prime minister must secure parliamentary approval for the Cabinet and government programme before formally taking office. On April 27, Iraqi President Nizar Amedi named al-Zaidi, the nominee of the Coordination Framework, which is the largest parliamentary bloc and an umbrella alliance of Shiite parties, as prime minister-designate. The Constitution gives a prime minister-designate 30 days to present a Cabinet and government programme to Parliament for a confidence vote. Under Iraq’s power-sharing system, the presidency is held by a Kurd, the parliamentary speakership by a Sunni Muslim and the prime ministership by a Shiite Muslim. – Bernama-Xinhua demonstrates less its strength than its weakness. It is running out of solutions on the military front and does not know how to end its war of aggression,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said the attacks on Kyiv show that Russia “openly mocks” efforts to end the war. Russia said the wave of missiles and drones had targeted energy facilities that support the Ukrainian army and military-linked sites. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced that yesterday would be a day of mourning in the capital “in memory of the victims of the enemy’s most massive attack” on Kyiv. He said flags will be flown at half-mast and entertainment events will be prohibited. Emergency service workers were seen hauling those wounded and killed in the strikes from the site, and When asked in the interview about the necessity to retrieve enriched uranium from Iran, Trump suggested that the quest was not necessary except for public relations purposes. “I just feel better if I got it, actually. But it is, I think, it is more for public relations than it is for anything else.” The United States, one of nine countries in the world recognised as having nuclear weapons, insists that Iran should move its highly enriched

Trump warns of fading patience with Iran

New Iraq prime minister sworn in with partial Cabinet

Following the confidence vote, al-Zaidi (centre) and the 14 approved ministers took the constitutional oath before Parliament . – AFPPIC