A powerful explosion ripped through a key port in southern Iran on Saturday, killing four people and injuring more than 500, state media said. Although the cause of the blast was not immediately clear, the customs office at the port said in a statement carried by state TV that it probably resulted from a fire that broke out at the hazmat and chemical materials storage depot. State media reported a "massive explosion" at Shahid Rajaee, the country's largest commercial port, located in Hormozgan province on Iran's southern coast. Footage broadcast on state TV showed thick columns of black smoke billowing from the port area, where many containers are stored, with helicopters deployed to fight the fire. Citing local emergency services, state TV reported that at least 516 people were injured and "hundreds have been transferred to nearby medical centres". "Unfortunately, at least four deaths have been confirmed by rescuers," the head of the Red Crescent Society's Relief and Rescue Organisation, Babak Mahmoudi, later told the broadcaster. State TV had quoted Esmaeil Malekizadeh, a regional port official, as saying authorities were working to put out a fire at the facility. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed sympathy for the victims of the deadly blast, adding he had "issued an order to investigate the situation and the causes", dispatching Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni to the area to look into the incident. Shahid Rajaee, more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) south of the capital Tehran, is the most advanced container port in Iran, according to the official IRNA news agency. It is located 23 kilometres west of Bandar Abbas, the Hormozgan provincial capital, and north of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of world oil output passes. The explosion was so powerful that it could be felt and heard some 50 kilometres away, Fars news agency reported, with residents saying they could feel the ground shake even at a distance from the . - Containers exploded - Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, head of Hormozgan province's crisis management authority, told state TV that "the cause of this incident was the explosion of several containers stored in the Shahid Rajaee Port wharf area". "We are currently evacuating and transporting the injured to nearby medical centres," he said. The explosion was so powerful that it could be felt and heard about 50 kilometres away, Fars news agency reported, with residents saying they could feel the ground shake even at a distance. "The shockwave was so strong that most of the port buildings were severely damaged," Tasnim news agency reported. The state-owned National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company said in a statement carried by local media that "the explosion at Shahid Rajaee Port has no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes or oil pipelines". It added that "Bandar Abbas oil facilities are currently operating without interruption". The rare explosion comes several months after one of Iran's deadliest work accidents in years. The coal mine blast in September, caused by a gas leak, killed more than 50 people in Tabas in Iran's east. Saturday's explosion also came as delegations from Iran and the United States were meeting in Oman for high-level talks on Tehran's nuclear programme. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2025 07:20 PM IST | Tehran | AFPThe UN Security Council has condemned in the strongest terms the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, underlining the need to hold the perpetrators, organisers and the sponsors of "this reprehensible act of terrorism" accountable and bring them to justice. The 15-nation UN Security Council (UNSC) issued a press statement on Friday in which it reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constituted one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. "The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, during which at least 26 people were killed and many more injured," it said in the press statement. A press statement is a declaration to the media made by the UNSC president on behalf of all 15 members. Pakistan currently sits in the UNSC as a non-permanent member. The UNSC members expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and the governments of India and Nepal, and wished a speedy and full recovery to the injured. They also underlined the need to hold the perpetrators, organisers, financiers and the sponsors of "this reprehensible act of terrorism" accountable and bring them to justice. The UNSC stressed that those responsible for the killings should be held accountable and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard. The members reiterated that any acts of terrorism were criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed. They reaffirmed the need for all States to combat, by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts. Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were killed in Tuesday's Pahalgam terror attack that triggered widespread outrage within India and abroad. India on Wednesday announced a raft of punitive measures against Pakistan, including the expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and immediate closure of the Attari land-transit post, in view of cross-border links to the terror attack. In its response to India's actions, Pakistan on Thursday decided to shut its airspace to all Indian airlines and suspended trade with New Delhi, including through third countries. Pakistan also rejected India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and said any measures to stop the flow of water belonging to Pakistan under the pact would be seen as an "act of war". This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2025 02:09 PM IST | United Nations | PTIPakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has threatened that blood would flow in rivers if water is stopped, in a sharp response to India's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) after the Pahalgam terror attack. "The Indus is ours and will remain ours - either our water will flow through it, or their blood," the former foreign minister was quoted as saying by The News on Friday while addressing a public rally in the Sukkur area of his home Sindh province. The Indus flows through the province, and the Indus Valley Civilisation city of Mohenjo-Daro flourished on its banks. And Bilawal said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed India is heir to a civilisation thousands of years old, "But that civilisation lies in Mohenjo-daro, in Larkana. We are its true custodians, and we will defend it." Bilawal said that Modi cannot sever the aeons-old bond between the people of Sindh and the Indus, adding that "the Indian government has cast its eyes on Pakistan's water, and the situation demands unity among all four provinces to defend and protect their water." He said that neither the people of Pakistan nor the international community would tolerate Modi's "warmongering" or any attempts to divert the Indus waters away from Pakistan. "We will send a message to the world that robbery on the Sindhu won't be accepted." The PPP chairman urged his supporters to prepare for a resolute struggle to defend their river from Indian aggression. Bilawal, who has also served as Pakistan's youngest foreign minister, said the country and its people condemned the recent terrorist attack in India because Pakistanis themselves remain victims of terrorism. India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with Islamabad. That call was taken by India after the Pahalgam terror attack on Tuesday that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack. In response to India's decision to suspend the IWT, Pakistan on Thursday threatened to suspend the Simla Agreement and put other bilateral accords with India on hold. Pakistan also suspended all trade, closed its airspace for Indian airlines and said any attempt to divert the water meant for it under the Indus Water Treaty will be considered an Act of War. The Simla Agreement was signed in 1972. The treaty, signed in Shimla, was inked by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Bilawal's grandfather. Also, the PPP chairman announced on Friday that the federal government has now agreed to subject the construction of the controversial six new canals to consensus among all provinces. "I want to share that the federal government has decided that no new canals will be built without consensus in the CCI (Council of Common Interests)," he said. CCI is a high-powered inter-provincial body to tackle controversies between provinces. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
26 April,2025 01:41 PM IST | Islamabad | PTIUS President Donald Trump on Friday said there has always been tensions between India and Pakistan and the two countries will figure it out between themselves 'one way or the other'. "I am very close to India and I'm very close to Pakistan, as you know. And they've had that fight for 1,000 years in Kashmir. Kashmir has been going on for 1,000 years, probably longer than that. And it was a bad one yesterday, though, that was a bad one. Over 30 people," Trump said during a press gaggle with reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Rome. The US President was asked about tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians were killed and if he would be talking to the leaders of the two nations. There have been "tensions on that border for 1,500 years. So you know, the same as it's been, but they'll get it figured out one way or the other. I'm sure... I know both leaders. There is great tension between Pakistan and India. But there always has been", he said. Terrorists opened fire in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on Tuesday, killing 26 people, mostly tourists, in the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019. The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the attack. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2025 09:26 AM IST | New York | APPresident Donald Trump on Friday called for Ukraine and Russia to meet for "very high-level talks", saying they are "very close to a deal" on ending the bloody three-year war. Trump posted on his Truth Social site shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis' funeral that it was a "good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine". His envoy, Steve Witkoff, had made a visit to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. "They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to finish it off," Trump wrote. "Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!" Trump's announcement followed him saying in an interview published on Friday that "Crimea will stay with Russia", the latest example of how he has been pressuring Ukraine to make concessions to end the war while the country remains under siege. He also earlier demanded on social media that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "IMMEDIATELY" sign a long-delayed agreement giving the US access to his nation's mineral resources. Progress on ending the war has seemed elusive in the months since Trump returned to the White House, and his previous claims of imminent breakthroughs have failed to come to fruition. Russia continued its bombardment of Ukraine on Friday, killing three people with a drone strike on an apartment building in a southeastern city. Despite a rare admonishment of Putin this week, Trump's focus has largely been on urging Zelenskyy to cut a deal that would involve ceding territory to Ukraine's invader. In an interview with Time magazine, Trump described Crimea as a place where Russia has "had their submarines" and "the people speak largely Russian". "Crimea will stay with Russia," Trump said. "And Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it's been with them for a long time. It's been with them long before Trump came along." When asked by reporters, Zelenskyy said he didn't want to comment on Trump's statement but repeated, as he has many times during the war, that recognising occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian is a red line for his country. Crimea is a strategic peninsula along the Black Sea in southern Ukraine. It was seized by Russia in 2014, while President Barack Obama was in office, years before Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour in 2022. Disagreements over next steps Trump has been accusing Zelenskyy of prolonging the war by resisting negotiations with Putin. Western European leaders, however, have accused Putin of dragging his feet in the negotiations and seeking to grab more Ukrainian land while his army has battlefield momentum. The war could be approaching a pivotal moment as the Trump administration weighs its options. Senior US officials had warned that the administration could soon give up attempts to stop the war if the two sides did not come to a settlement. Speaking to reporters on Friday as he left the White House to attend the pope's funeral, Trump said there was no deadline for the conclusion of peace talks. "I just want to do it as fast as possible," Trump said. Negotiators are "pretty close" to a deal, he said. He promised to meet with foreign leaders while in Rome, and said it was "possible" he could meet with Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy said late Friday, however, that he was not sure he would make it to Rome in time for the funeral. Witkoff's meeting with Putin on Friday was their second this month and the fourth since February. Witkoff's trip coincided with the death of a senior Russian military officer in a car bomb near Moscow. Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, who attended the talks, said the meeting lasted three hours and was "constructive" and "useful". Further talks are expected, he said. Putin and Witkoff discussed, "in particular, the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine", according to Ushakov. Delegations from the two countries last met in the weeks following Russia's February 2022 invasion of its neighbour. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with CBS that he agreed with Trump's opinion that negotiations "are moving in the right direction". Russia, he said before Trump's post, is "ready to reach a deal, but there are still some specific points ¿ elements of this deal which need to be fine-tuned". Russia's attacks claim more lives Meanwhile, Russia has continued its bombardment of Ukraine. A drone struck an apartment building in a southeastern Ukraine city, killing three people and injuring 10 others, officials said on Friday, a day after Trump rebuked Putin for a major missile and drone attack on Kyiv that killed 12 people and injured 87. Russian forces fired 103 Shahed and decoy drones at five Ukrainian regions overnight, Ukraine's air force reported. Authorities in the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions reported damage to civilian infrastructure but no casualties. Russian forces used Thursday's attack on Kyiv as cover to launch almost 150 assaults on Ukrainian positions along the roughly 1,000-kilometre frontline, Zelenskyy said late Thursday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. 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26 April,2025 09:19 AM IST | Rome | APA bomb threat note found on Friday on a plane at a Florida airport prompted the evacuation of the aircraft and a temporary closure but no explosives were found, officials said. A flight attendant on Allegiant Airways Flight 2006, heading from the St Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport to Cincinnati, Ohio, found the note about a bomb threat on a bathroom door, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office officials said. The pilot then stopped the plane and evacuated passengers on the tarmac. Deputies were investigating the bomb threat, and no injuries were reported, officials said. The threat came as recent polling by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that fewer Americans report feeling safe about flying this year. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2025 09:12 AM IST | St Petersburg | APA Russian general was killed by a car bomb on Friday, Russia’s top criminal investigation agency said, in the second such attack on a top Russian military officer in four months. Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, was killed by an explosive device placed in his car in Balashikha, just outside Moscow. The explosive device was rigged with shrapnel the investigation agency did not mention possible suspects. The attack follows the killing of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who died on December 17, 2024, when a bomb hidden on an electric scooter parked outside his apartment building exploded as he left for his office. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2025 09:03 AM IST | Moscow | AgenciesBritain’s Princess Anne, New Zealand’s prime minister and Australia’s governor-general gathered near the World War I battlefields on Turkiye’s Gallipoli Peninsula for a dawn ceremony on Friday to remember the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who lost their lives in a tragic campaign 110 years ago. The gathering took place near a beach where the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) first landed at Gallipoli at dawn on April 25, 1915. The ceremony kicked off with a mournful Maori lament setting the tone for the solemn observance. Aussies, Kiwis commemorate war dead Thousands gathered across Australia and New Zealand on Friday for dawn services and street marches to commemorate their war dead on ANZAC Day. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton took a day off campaigning ahead of general elections on May 3 as a mark of respect. On April 25, 1915, ANZAC landed on beaches of Gallipoli, in northwest Turkiye, in an ill-fated campaign—the soldiers’ first combat of WWI. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2025 09:01 AM IST | Istanbul | AgenciesThe president says Switzerland is among 15 countries with which the US plans to conduct “privileged” negotiations to help reach a deal in the wake of sweeping US tariffs on dozens of countries that have shaken global markets. President Karin Keller-Sutter said she was “satisfied” with talks in Washington this week that included an International Monetary Fund conference and her one-on-one meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “The US has defined a group of 15 countries with which it wants to find ...a quick solution in this tariff question. Switzerland is part of this group of these 15 countries,” she told reporters separately late Thursday in Washington. It was not clear which 14 other countries were included. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2025 08:58 AM IST | Geneva | AgenciesThree Chinese astronauts aboard a spaceship entered China’s space station in the early hours of Friday and met with another astronaut trio, starting a new round of in-orbit crew handover. The crew manning the station called Tiangong for the past six months opened the hatch at 1:17 am (Beijing Time) and greeted the new arrivals, according to the China Manned Space Agency. The six crew members took group pictures for the sixth space get-together in China’s aerospace history. They will live and work together for about five days to complete planned tasks and handover work. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2025 08:54 AM IST | Beijing | AgenciesHeads of state and royalty started converging on Rome on Friday for the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican’s St Peter’s Square, but the group of poor people who will meet his casket in a small crosstown basilica are more in keeping with Francis’ humble persona and disdain for pomp. Murmu heads to Rome President Droupadi Murmu on Friday departed for Vatican City to attend the State Funeral of Pope Francis. Accompanying her are Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju; Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, George Kurian; and Deputy Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly, Joshua De Souza. The Vatican said 130 delegations are confirmed, including 50 heads of state and 10 reigning sovereigns. US President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei were among the other leaders set to arrive on Friday, the last day the Argentine pope will lie in state in St Peter’s Basilica before his coffin is sealed in the evening in preparation for his funeral Saturday. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of mourners have waited hours in line to bid farewell to Francis, who died on Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 88. A higher-than-expected turnout prompted the Vatican to extend the basilica’s opening hours overnight. By Friday morning, more than 128,000 people had filed past Francis’ open coffin placed in front of the basilica’s main altar to pay their respects. Mourners from around the world filed past at times praying, at times holding smart phones aloft—despite instructions not to—for a photo of the late pontiff laid out in red robes, a bishop’s pointed miter and a rosary entwined in his hands. St Peter’s Basilica remained open most of the second night, closing for just a few hours. Mourners began arriving before dawn, and sprinted into the piazza to pay their respects when security reopened the flows. Cardinals in discussions The work of the conclave to choose a new pope won’t start until at least May 5, after nine days of public mourning. Cardinals have been also been arriving in Rome, with 113 meeting on Thursday morning to discuss church business. They will meet again on Friday before taking a break for the weekend. Papal burial In keeping with Francis’ embrace of the marginaliSed, a group of poor and needy people will meet the pope’s coffin to pay homage to him when it arrives at St Mary Major Basilica for burial on Saturday. It has already become a point of pilgrimage. The tomb is being prepared near an icon of the Madonna that he revered. Some world leaders who will attend... >> Indian President Droupadi Murmu>> US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania>> Argentine President Javier Milei>> Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska>> French President Emmanuel Macron>> British PM Keir Starmer>> Prince William>> Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia>> Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
26 April,2025 08:52 AM IST | Vatican City | AgenciesADVERTISEMENT
