The Lidl case holds 10kg of luggage and fits within the size requirements of most UK-based airlines, helping you dodge those hefty oversized baggage fees.
But the Amazon dupe is cheaper and even better.
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Like the Lidl bargain, the AVIO option features a secure hard shell, easy-glide wheels and fits neatly in a plane’s overhead locker.
It also comes with an extra feature that the Lidl option doesn’t have.
It has a built-in, three-digit lock to protect your items.
This means you can lock down your zips and keep your passport, tech, and any valuables secure without needing to buy a separate padlock.
And you can’t beat the peace of mind knowing that your luggage is safe and secure when out of sight.
Amazon reviewers rate the suitcase very highly, too, giving it a 4.3/5 star rating and praising that the roomy suitcase lets you make the most of your cabin baggage allowance.
The Amazon find fits perfectly into overhead cabin storage with airlines like Ryanair and easyJetCredit: Getty
One reviewer said, “These are excellent little cases. We bought them to fly with easyJet and to keep our ticket price as low as possible; these will fit easily under the seat in front.
“We were able to get a surprising amount of stuff in them for a four night stay; toilet bag (basics), 4 t-shirts, hoodie, 4 socks, 4 pants, sweatpants and Birkenstocks and some electronics and an anorak.”.
Another reviewer added, “Amazing quality, very lightweight, tires are nice. For cabin bag, its good as it gets”.
On stage at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, a far cry from the sweaty basement punk shows of the band’s early days, Jimmy Eat World played breakthrough power pop hit “The Middle” as the sold-out crowd sang along with the final chorus that “everything will be all right, all right.”
“It really is incredible to us to think about everyone who bothered to spend time with this record and made something of it for themselves over 25 years. This is your guys’ record as much as it’s ours, really,” singer-guitarist Jim Adkins said from the stage.
The band, which has generally shied away from nostalgia plays over its 30-plus year career, is performing the platinum-selling “Bleed American” album in its entirety on tour this summer, including a stop at Warped Tour in Long Beach on Saturday, a matching bookend to the band’s original promotion of the album.
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“It solidified us as, ‘This is what we do. Let the day job go.’ It turned into full-time rock and roll. And that moment only happens once, so it felt appropriate to honor it at 25,” bassist Rick Burch said backstage before the band’s Brooklyn tour stop in June.
Released on July 24, 2001, “Bleed American” was one of the last great rock records of the monoculture, arriving months before Apple’s iPod launched and made shuffle the default and 15 years before streaming became the dominant way to consume music.
“When ‘Bleed American’ took off it was right at the transition of the internet,” says Jim Adkins.
(Evelyn Freja / For The Times)
A hit with Hollywood roots
Just over a quarter of a century ago, four guys from Mesa, Ariz., came to L.A. to record their fourth album.
Jimmy Eat World’s Adkins, Burch, drummer Zach Lind and guitarist Tom Linton earned recording money between tours by working construction, driving around car dealership customers and selling art supplies and auto parts.
The band had cut ties with Capitol Records after 1999’s “Clarity” — a sweeping, lush and highly influential work highly regarded by their contemporaries that would inspire third-wave emo superstars including My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy and Paramore — that the major label had no idea how to market, even after “Lucky Denver Mint” got pickup on L.A.’s alt rock tastemaker KROQ-FM.
“If that song would have been on ‘Bleed American,’ that would have been a No. 1 song,” said Jim Suptic, of Kansas-based second-wave emo band the Get Up Kids, who have been on the “Bleed American” anniversary run. Suptic said that he was inspired to start the band after seeing Jimmy Eat World live in the mid-’90s.
With the band’s tight budget, producer Mark Trombino, who produced “Clarity” and predecessor “Static Prevails,” worked with the band for free in L.A., banking on the future success of the album. After recording drums at Cherokee Studios, the band relocated to Harddrive Analog & Digital Recording in North Hollywood to make the bulk of “Bleed American.”
“The studio was so small, it didn’t have a lounge,” Lind recalled.
But there was a bus stop outside they used instead, where they would hang out with “an assortment of characters,” Adkins said.
He and Lind commuted to the Valley from Redondo Beach, where they crashed on the floor of Lind’s brother’s place. Linton fondly remembers the great food in the city and hanging out with friends in other bands while Burch spent downtime skateboarding in L.A.
Even without the cash or support from a label, recording “Bleed American” didn’t feel like a do-or-die moment for the band’s future.
“We just kind of figured we might have to go out and just release this ourselves. Let’s just do the best job we can, and be happy with what we put out,” Linton said.
But with the buzz growing around the new music, record labels came calling.
‘The Middle’ meets the moment
By the time the album dropped in July 2001, the guitar-heavy snarling title track of “Bleed American” had already been in regular rotation on alt-rock stations for a month.
After a stint on the Warped Tour, Jimmy Eat World set out on a U.S. headlining tour in the fall, with Hey Mercedes opening.
“I remember that tour in particular, them sort of really finding their confidence in their voice and their shows and their performance and the whole package. And this was before ‘The Middle’ really broke, but I could tell that they were really firing on all cylinders,” said Hey Mercedes singer-guitarist Bob Nanna, whose influential emo group Braid first played with Jimmy Eat World in 1998.
The album landed on the Billboard charts three weeks after its release, and while its peak position was 31, it remained on the chart for 70 weeks. (A couple of months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the name of the album was changed to “Jimmy Eat World” on pressings before reverting to the original title in 2008.)
“When ‘Bleed American’ took off it was right at the transition of the internet,” Adkins said.
By 2002, “Bleed American” was taking off due to the popularity of the song “The Middle.”
(Scott Gries / Getty Images)
The media landscape hadn’t yet transformed. Rock music magazines like Spin, NME, Alternative Press and Kerrang! were thriving. The band made the rounds on the late-night talk shows as “The Middle” video clip played on MTV’s popular show “Total Request Live.”
“Things hadn’t splintered out into a zillion niche locations just quite yet,” Adkins said.
By March 2002, “The Middle” had hit the Billboard charts, where it climbed to No. 5 by the summer and spent 33 weeks on the Hot 100.
“They were a real band that had a radio hit, and not a radio band reverse engineered,” the Get Up Kids’ Suptic said.
The success was surreal for the band members as they heard the song on the radio, in restaurants and the gym. Today, you can still summon an entire generation with the opening guitar melody.
“I understand why that song has resonated,” Lind said. “I think there’s a few themes in the album that resonate with people in times when things are going tough. You know, ‘The Middle’ is definitely one of those songs that so many people have found encouragement from, whether they’re dealing with a breakup or going through cancer.”
“It seems like one of those songs that people have used to feel better and I think that’s obviously really powerful.”
“It solidified us as, ‘This is what we do. Let the day job go.’ It turned into full-time rock and roll,” says bassist Rick Burch about the success of “Bleed American.”
(Evelyn Freja / For The Times)
Here we are now
But the fans selling out the tour dates around the U.S. know much more than the hits, singing along to the deep cuts after traveling hundreds of miles to get to the show, in some cases.
Fans traveled from states like Michigan and Texas for the tour kickoff at Red Rocks in Colorado.
Robie O’Donnell took the train up to New York from the Washington, D.C., area to take his 12-year-old daughter to her first Jimmy Eat World show. The Brooklyn show was his 25th after he discovered them in the late ‘90s from a recommendation on the Get Up Kids’ website.
Behind him in line hours before doors opened was Jane Kung, who was only 8 when “Bleed American” was released and got into it when she was in high school. She didn’t want to miss the chance to hear it live.
“The fact that so many people wanted to come see this is something I didn’t expect,” Adkins said about the tour.
The fans get a chance to geek out over the rarely-played deep cuts from the album, like “Your House,” which required a revamp because of the studio work on the song, and the live debut of “(Splash) Turn Twist,” which was on the Japanese import of the album. Even louder than the sing-along to “The Middle” is the call and response from the crowd on the album’s second-biggest hit, “Sweetness.”
“Having this piece that we’ve created be embraced by so many is a very accomplished feeling,” Burch said.
Nanna even ventured into the crowd after Hey Mercedes opened the Brooklyn show, singing along to “A Praise Chorus,” the band’s crunchy guitar-filled love letter to rock music, among others.
“The world is a tough, s— place now and to have these moments where everybody can sing along to something that’s just pure joy was really soul enriching,” he said.
This photo, taken Thursday, shows the trading room of Hana Bank in Seoul as South Korean stocks fell by more than six percent on tech stock losses amid Middle East tensions. Photo by Yonhap
Seoul shares again plummeted Thursday, led by steep losses in technology heavyweights, as escalating tensions in the Middle East weighed on investor sentiment. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.
After opening 4.45 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) extended its losses to close at 6,820.60, down 463.81 points, or 6.37 percent from the previous session, after falling as low as 6,730.87.
The Korea Exchange, the country’s bourse operator, activated a sell-side sidecar on the KOSPI for 20 minutes at around 9:10 a.m. after the benchmark index fell more than 5 percent.
The decline came after the index surged 6.24 percent Wednesday as softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data eased concerns about near-term Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.
Adding to investor jitters, the Bank of Korea (BOK) raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.75 percent earlier in the day, the first increase in 3 1/2 years, to curb inflation amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The U.S. launched fresh strikes on Iran, escalating tensions in the Middle East and renewing concerns over potential disruptions to regional energy supplies.
“Profit-taking followed sharp gains in technology stocks a session earlier, while persistent concerns over the semiconductor industry kept the index under pressure,” Kang Jin-hyeok, an analyst at Shinhan Securities Co., said.
Institutional and foreign investors sold a net 2.37 trillion won (US$1.6 billion) and 1.38 trillion won worth of shares, respectively, while retail investors bought a net 3.66 trillion won.
Technology stocks led the decline.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics plunged 8.77 percent to 255,000 won, while rival chipmaker SK hynix tumbled 11.53 percent to 1,842,000 won.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 2.07 percent to 425,000 won, while steelmaker POSCO Holdings slipped 0.95 percent to 311,500 won.
Among gainers, shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean rose 5.73 percent to 86,700 won, while leading beverage firm Hitejinro gained 2.47 percent to 14,910 won.
The Korean won was quoted at 1,480.4 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., up from 1,484.7 won the previous session.
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The airline expects to be the only one in the US that offers this seating option.
The new perk from United comes after the announcement of United Relax Row.
Major airline introduces new seat perk that lets you keep the middle seat free, Credit: UnitedCredit: United AirlinesThe airline is also introducing Relax Row where seats turn into a sofa, or bedCredit: United Airlines
The Relax Row seats come with a custom-fitted mattress, blankets, extra pillows and a toy for children.
These will be onboard its Boeing 787 and Boeing 777 widebody aircraft and are expected to be available from 2027.
Andrew Nocella, United’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer said: “The XLR is our newest aircraft and not only offers all-aisle access lie-flat seats in United Polaris but now also includes seats in Economy Plus with extra leg and elbow room.
“Our customers are going to love all these new options.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticised a proposal by US President Donald Trump to impose charges on goods passing through the Strait of Hormuz, saying such a measure would amount to “piracy.”
Speaking at a public event in São Paulo state on Monday, Lula said “In the past, that would have been considered piracy.”
“The United States is an important country, and I believe it fought piracy for a long time. It cannot act like a pirate today” he added.
Lula’s comments followed Trump’s announcement that the United States would seek to impose a 20 percent tariff on goods transported through the Strait of Hormuz while reimposing a naval blockade on Iran.
According to Trump’s statement, the measure was presented as a response to Iran’s announcement that it intended to close the strategic waterway. He argued that the United States would ensure freedom of navigation through the strait and that commercial shipping benefiting from that protection should contribute to its cost.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “The Strait of Hormuz is open, and will remain open, with or without Iran. We will reimpose the blockade on Iran.”
The proposed tariff has drawn international attention because the Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes, carrying a significant share of global oil and liquefied natural gas exports. Any changes to shipping arrangements or transit costs could have broad implications for international trade and energy markets.
The price of Brent crude climbed to just over $84 a barrel after soaring nearly 10% on Monday. US benchmark crude was up 1.4% at $79.20 a barrel.
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Oil prices are still below their wartime peak of nearly $120 a barrel, but uncertainty over the future stability of supplies deepened as the US and Iran each asserted they controlled the Strait of Hormuz.
US share futures were down 0.3% as the U.S. launched more strikes on Iran after President Donald Trump said Washington was “reinstating” a blockade on Iran in the strait.
Fighting in the region has kept oil tankers from using the waterway to deliver crude to customers from the Persian Gulf, driving up fuel prices worldwide.
Asia-Pacific shares slip overnight
In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 1% to 66,574.96 and the Kospi in South Korea declined 3.2% to 6,589.37.
The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.8% to 3,884.32, even though the government reported that China’s exports jumped 27% in June from a year earlier as adoption of artificial intelligence drove strong demand for computer chips and other technology.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged 0.1% higher, to 24,230.46, while in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.5% to 8,767.00.
Monday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.8%, coming off its fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.6%.
Chip stocks like Micron Technology helped lead the way lower. Micron fell 4.4%, eating into what had been a stellar rise of 243.1% for the year so far.
Worries are rising that stock prices have shot too high and that the demand may not be sustainable if AI doesn’t deliver as much profit and productivity as expected.
Nvidia fell 3.5%. Because it’s the largest stock on Wall Street by value thanks to the euphoria around AI, it was the single heaviest weight on the S&P 500.
Investors turn to earnings
Much of Wall Street’s attention this week will be on profit reports from companies saying how much they earned during the spring. On Tuesday alone, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo are all releasing their latest quarterly results.
Analysts are forecasting that companies in the S&P 500 index will deliver overall growth of 23.6% from a year earlier, according to FactSet. If they’re right, it would be the second straight quarter of growth better than 20%.
Companies across industries will need to deliver strong growth to justify the big moves their stock prices have made. Indexes are near records despite their sharp recent swings due to worries around AI stocks.
More costly oil would push inflation higher, potentially leading the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates. Higher rates can keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow the economy and hurt prices for all kinds of investments.
In other dealings early Tuesday, the US dollar slipped to 162.34 Japanese yen from 162.35 yen. The euro rose to $1.1391 from $1.1381.
This photo, taken Monday, shows the trading room of Hana Bank in Seoul as South Korean stocks plunged by nine percent on tech stock losses amid Middle East tensions. Photo by Yonhap
Seoul shares plunged 9 percent Monday as investors dumped technology stocks for profit-taking amid renewed tensions in the Middle East. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 669.01 points, or 8.95 percent, to close at 6,806.93 after falling as low as 6,783.43.
Trade volume was moderate at 469.86 million shares worth 39.8 trillion won (US$26.5 billion), with decliners far outnumbering gainers 713 to 179.
Institutions and foreigners sold a net 2.22 trillion won and 1.7 trillion won worth of shares, respectively, while individuals bought a net 3.9 trillion won.
After opening 0.85 percent lower, the KOSPI extended its losses, triggering a circuit breaker that temporarily halted trading of KOSPI-listed stocks for 20 minutes. It marked the seventh activation of the measure this year.
On Friday, U.S. stocks advanced, buoyed by South Korean chipmaker SK hynix’s multibillion-dollar U.S. share offering. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.29 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also rose 0.29 percent.
SK hynix’s American depositary receipts (ADRs) on the Nasdaq closed at US$168 each, well above the offering price of $149.
Despite the successful U.S. market debut, SK hynix shares tumbled as investors took profits and shifted to the company’s ADRs, analysts said.
Investor sentiment was also dampened by heightened uncertainty in the Middle East after the United States and Iran exchanged fresh strikes over the status of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The country’s newly introduced single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds linked to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix continued to fuel volatility in the stock market,” Samsung Securities said in a research note.
Tech stocks led the decline.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics plunged 10.7 percent to 254,500 won, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix plummeted 15.37 percent to 1,845,000 won.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 2.95 percent to 444,000 won, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace declined 3.21 percent to 936,000 won.
Among gainers, leading battery maker LG Energy Solution rose 0.77 percent, and leading refiner SK Innovation climbed 7.09 percent to 110,200 won.
The Korean won was quoted at 1,503.4 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 2 won from the previous session.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 4.1 basis points to 3.809 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds climbed 3.3 basis points at 4.041 percent.
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July 12 (UPI) — A major heat dome expanded from the interior West into the Upper Midwest on Sunday on its way to smothering the East later this week, forecasters said.
The heat in the East is expected to be shorter and less intense than the early July heat wave, but parts of the West are coming within a few degrees of all-time record highs.
Dangerous heat is also gripping even the Desert Southwest, where communities are used to extreme temperatures. The pattern will raise the risk of heat exhaustion, heatstroke and heat-related deaths.
Motorists are urged to carry plenty of water with them in the event of a breakdown.
Temperatures climbed well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit across much of the Great Basin, the Cascades and Sierras east to the western Rockies, eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, western Colorado and northern Arizona this weekend.
The building heat dome has already pushed season-high temperatures into the 110s in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Palm Springs, Calif.
The heat expanded north this weekend, bringing highs of 106 in Salt Lake City, 107 in Bismarck, N.D., and 110 in Billings, Mont. Those temperatures are 10-25 degrees above historical averages during what is typically the hottest part of the year.
As the heat shifts east into the north-central United States early this week, some daily record highs will be challenged. As the hot air spreads east of the Rockies into more humid air, AccuWeather RealFeel Temperatures will run as much as 10-15 degrees higher than the actual air temperature.
While the North American monsoon will begin to temper the heat across parts of the West with increasing clouds and thunderstorms, multiple days of 90-degree heat are forecast across the Midwest, including Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland.
Minneapolis and Chicago can expect at least four consecutive days with highs at or above 90.
“Temperatures will peak in the mid- to upper 90s in the Interstate 95 cities of the mid-Atlantic and New England during the heat surge this week,” AccuWeather Vice President of Forecast Operations Dan DePodwin said. “While high temperatures will still create dangerous conditions, the heat will be somewhat less intense and shorter-lived than the early July heat wave.”
Humidity levels with the heat in the Midwest and Northeast this week will be significantly lower when compared to the week of Independence Day.
HILARY Duff’s Los Angeles concert took an unexpected turn when two fans were caught on camera launching into a shocking fight in the middle of the crowd.
The dramatic altercation unfolded as the actress and singer performed on stage, leaving fellow concertgoers stunned as the footage quickly spread across social media.
Hilary Duff performs live onstage in Los Angeles, CaliforniaCredit: GettyTwo fans shove and throw punches at each other as secruity are forced to step inCredit: @supjoshie via Storyful
The viral video showed the two fans shoving and throwing punches at each other as the band carried on performing behind them.
One fan, dressed in a shining, shimmering crop top, appeared to have their hair yanked by another concertgoer dressed in black as security rushed in and attempted to pull the pair apart.
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Other concertgoers looked on in shock, with many pulling out their phones to capture the dramatic moment.
Dressed head-to-toe in sparkling sequins, the pair appeared to be devoted Hilary Duff fans before the shocking altercation unfolded.
It’s unclear exactly when the altercation broke out, as Hilary Duff is not visible in the footage.
However, members of her band can be seen on stage, suggesting the fight erupted during a transition between songs.
Hilary recently wrapped up two sold-out shows at The Forum on Wednesday and Thursday, with a host of famous faces spotted in the crowd.
Among those in attendance were Mandy Moore, Meghan Trainor and Demi Lovato, who all turned out to support the singer’s long-awaited return to the stage.
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The singer is currently on the road for her first tour in nearly two decades, and fans couldn’t be happier to see her back on stage.
Hilary began her career playing the titular character on the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire before transitioning into music.
She took an extended break from singing to focus on acting, writing, and raising her family.
Hilary sang both her older classics and new tracks from her sixth studio album, luck… or something, released in February.
At the beginning of her concert, the passionately packed crowd sang along to her hit tracks, including Wake Up and So Yesterday, from her debut album Metamorphosis, which she released in August 2003.
She also belted out the slightly raunchier lyrics to her new single, Roommates, while rolling around on the stage.
The singer put on an impressive showing at the famed Los Angeles venue, stopping the show at several times to express her gratitude to the 20,000 screaming fans.
At one point, the former child star even teared up when discussing how much it meant to her to have people in the crowd who have followed her life for decades.
Also in the crowd was her family, including husband Matthew Koma – whom she created her latest album with.
Hilary has spoken about the lyrics of her newer songs reflecting her vulnerability and personal challenges during her 18-year hiatus from singing.
A money-saving expert has shared a simple two-minute Ryanair middle seat hack that could help you avoid being assigned the worst seats on your flight – and it won’t cost you a penny
A Ryanair passenger has shared how he’s avoided the middle seat through random seat allocation (stock image)(Image: Getty Images)
A savvy deals expert has revealed his top trick for dodging extra seat selection charges on a Ryanair flight with a straightforward two-minute technique. Ryanair is frequently praised by travellers for its budget-friendly fares, as tickets to destinations across Europe can often be snapped up for less than €20.
However, costs can rapidly mount up if you’re not clued up on Ryanair’s various add-on charges, such as bringing additional baggage on board, or opting to check in at the airport rather than online. The fee that frustrates passengers the most, though, is forking out anywhere between €4.50 to €36.50 just to select a specific seat. Prices differ depending on which seat you’re after, and whether you’re keen on extra legroom.
And while the airline recently updated its Family Seating Policy following an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), you’ll still need to pay if you wish to sit alongside someone aged over 11 — or simply want to steer clear of a middle seat.
Now, money-saving guru Jordon Cox, who has featured on ITV’s This Morning and is widely known online as The Coupon King, has unveiled a nifty two-minute hack that stops the airline from lumping you with a middle seat — without spending a single penny.
“Never sit in the middle seat again with this easy trick!” Jordon said at the start of his TikTok video. “There is a way to avoid those awful middle seats on Ryanair without paying for it.”
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For the initial stage of his trick, Jordon advises checking the seating chart to identify which seats remain unoccupied roughly five to six hours before the flight’s scheduled departure, and pinpointing those you’d rather avoid. For most travellers, these could be middle seats, or ones close to the toilets.
After you’ve identified your least desirable seats, Jordon proposes opening a second tab on your laptop or phone and creating a fresh booking on the same flight you’re travelling on.
Next, enter some fictitious passenger names, matching the number of seats you’re trying to dodge, and assign the imaginary travellers to those particular seats.
“These seats are then frozen for a few minutes while they’re in someone else’s basket,” Jordon explained.
He noted in the post’s caption: “Hopefully the only ones left are the aisle and the window.”
Following this, simply return to your original booking and opt for random seat allocation. “And boom, you’ve avoided the middle seat for free!” Jordon declared.
Folk quickly flocked to the comments section to express their views on the trick, with one person noting: “Only works if the flight isn’t full.”
Another remarked: “They’ll cop on to this and we won’t be able to do it.”
A Palestinian family in the northern Gaza town of Jabalia has been reunited with their son after believing for a year that he had been killed by Israeli army fire, only to discover he had been held in an Israeli prison throughout that time.
Inside the family’s home, which was damaged by Israeli bombardment, relatives broke down in tears of joy as 23-year-old Hamada Al-Banna returned unexpectedly after they had lost hope of ever seeing him again.
His family had believed that Hamada and his brother, Adham, were shot dead by Israeli forces while on their way to collect food aid during the peak of the famine that hit the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2025.
On Monday, Israeli authorities released Hamada along with 16 other Palestinian detainees. The International Committee of the Red Cross transferred them to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza before he returned to his family in the north of the territory.
His mother, Widad, fainted after hearing her son’s voice for the first time in a phone call following his release. Hours later, she collapsed again as she embraced him when he arrived home.
An Anadolu correspondent witnessed the family’s emotional reunion, in a story reflecting the suffering of hundreds of Palestinian families who remain unaware of the fate of their relatives since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza on 8 October 2023.
EVERYONE dreams of heading to the beautiful Maldives with its bright blue waters and incredible resorts.
But did you know, there’s a very similar destination which has all the qualities and luxury of the tropical escape? And it even has an extra perk – it’s much quicker for Brits to get to.
The new destination in Saudi Arabia looks like the MaldivesCredit: Red Sea Global
Saudi Arabia is in the process of developing its new luxury destination called The Red Sea Project, which also includes a significant residential component.
It has everything you need from a holiday escape from beautiful islands to coral reefs, beaches, desert and even mountains.
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Talking about the destination, Stephen Cheesebrough, Head of Development at Red Sea Global told EuroNews: “It’s true that the islands may remind you of the Maldives, with crystal-clear water and white-sand beaches. But that’s where the similarities end.
“Our landscapes are far more diverse. In addition to the islands, we have mountains, volcanoes, deserts and kilometres of virtually untouched coastline.
“A visitor can spend the morning scuba diving among coral reefs and that same afternoon head into the desert or dine in the mountains. Very few destinations in the world offer such a variety of experiences in such a compact area.”
For Brits who dream of a holiday to somewhere like the Maldives, but don’t like the idea of a long flight – the Red Sea is much quicker to get to.
From the UK to the Maldives takes a minimum of 10 hours, and when you factor in seaplane or boat transfers to the hotel, can often exceed 12 hours in total.
But to get to The Red Sea Project from the UK takes around eight hours.
A direct flight from the UK to Riyadh will take six hours 30-minutes, followed ay a short domestic flight from Riyadh to RSI Red Sea Airport.
There could eventually be direct flights to RSI Red Sea Airport however, after it launched its first flights from Italy back in November 2025.
The resorts will be luxurious surrounded by white sand beachesCredit: Red Sea GlobalIn total there will be 50 hotels on the Red Sea with up to one million visitors a yearCredit: Red Sea Global
The Red Sea is under construction but lots of hotels are open for business with the first opening in 2023.
Currently, The Red Sea Project has 11 resorts with more set to open in the coming months.
At its centre is Shura Island which once completed will have hotels, shops, a marina and an 18-hole golf course.
In total there will be 50 hotels on the Red Sea resort including the Four Seasons, Six Senses, Rosewood Resort and Equinox.
The St Regis Resort even has overwater villas – some with private pools and butler service.
A seven-night stay in a One Bedroom Dune Villa in September is £1,512.
Some of the accommodation will have private pools and butler serviceCredit: Red Sea GlobalThe Red Sea has coral reefs and will be a sought out diving destinationCredit: Red Sea Global
By 2030, the Red Sea aims to welcome around one million visitors each year.
For those keen on exploring the ocean, the Red Sea is home to one of the ‘world’s largest barrier reef systems’ – so it will be a sought-after diving destination.
Stephen Cheesebrough added that the destination is set to be open year-round for guests who want “luxury” as well as “exceptional experiences.”
To get there, guests can fly into Red Sea International Airport (RSI) which is in the Tabuk Province of Saudi Arabia.
It’s purpose- built for those visiting The Red Sea Project.
It connects to cities like Riyadh, Jeddah and Dubai, but is yet to expand to Europe – however, that is in the works.
Stephen Cheesebrough said “there would be no point in creating a destination of this scale without ensuring that travellers can reach it easily.”
If the UK is added to the roster of direct flights, Brits could reach the Red Sea on a direct flight in up to seven hours.
A 6ft9in man who was allocated a middle seat on a Ryanair flight back to Rome found a genius solution after simply doing one thing at the boarding gate and it was free
He explained he was meant to be in the middle seat (Stock Image)(Image: Getty Images)
Flying is rarely a comfortable experience unless you’re fortunate enough to bag a first-class seat. To make matters worse, being assigned the middle seat can feel very much like you’ve drawn the short straw – and more so when you’re extremely tall.
Sure, you may technically have a claim to both armrests, but that’s little comfort when you’re wedged between two fellow passengers. And if you’re travelling solo, chances are you won’t know either of your neighbours. But what makes the middle seat an absolute nightmare is being exceptionally tall, which is precisely why one 6ft9in man was far from thrilled when he was handed this dreaded spot on a “Ryanair flight back to Rome”.
Ben Davies admitted he “barely fits with two seats” let alone when squeezed between a passenger on either side.
“If I only have a middle seat, I’m quite literally not going to fit,” he shared, revealing he was hopeful of tracking down an alternative seat on the aircraft.
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Upon reaching the boarding gate, Ben said he suspected the plane would be “full”. Nevertheless, he had the bright idea of asking a Ryanair member of staff whether they could locate two seats together, given his towering height.
“Do you know if there are any two seats next to each other? Could you check for me, please?” he asked a member of staff after they questioned his height.
He said he’d “really appreciate it” if they could find him two seats next to each other, because when he flew last time, he “didn’t fit”. The staff member informed him that seats A, B and C were available in row 19.
So when he stepped onto the aircraft, he could secure the entire row for himself if fortune favoured him.
“So there’s a full empty row. Y’all know I’m taking that,” Ben enthused, revealing his strategy was to simply “go to 19” and if they requested him to shift, he’d comply.
Ben made his way to 19 without any issues, explaining he’d lie horizontally to feel more at ease during the journey.
So it just demonstrates that if you engage directly with airline staff at the airport, you might just secure yourself a superior seat without incurring any extra charges.
However, not everyone was won over by the travel tip. In the comments, someone questioned: “Being that tall, why would you not just book extra leg room?” Others highlighted that “if he can get it for free, why would he?”
Another concurred, stating: “Why should he pay more? He has no control over being tall.”
Meanwhile, another tall man remarked: “I’m 2m tall and have just accepted that I’m always gonna have to pay extra for leg room on any flight”.
In response, a travel enthusiast argued: “You shouldn’t have to, though. Airlines should be more accommodating, instead they treat us like cattle and try to squeeze as many in as possible.”
Ten European and Western countries have barred Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich from entering their territories, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
The ministry said the ten countries had imposed entry bans on the two far-right ministers, who have faced widespread criticism over statements seen as advocating the extermination of the Palestinian people.
In a statement, the ministry said it was monitoring the diplomatic development and urged the countries to reconsider what it described as their “unjustified” decisions.
The countries that have imposed the bans are the UK, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Norway, Ireland, New Zealand and France.
Ben-Gvir was already banned from entering France and Ireland at the end of May after publishing a video showing detained activists from the Gaza-bound aid flotilla kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs following the interception of their vessel at sea. The activists were later held in southern Israel, prompting international condemnation.
Several countries, including France, Spain and Italy, have called for European sanctions against Ben-Gvir. Judicial authorities in both France and Italy have also opened investigations into allegations that he was responsible for the torture of the activists.
On Tuesday, Ben-Gvir cancelled a planned trip to New York to attend the United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit amid concerns over planned protests by human rights groups, as well as growing calls for his arrest and investigation.
The Hind Rajab Foundation had previously asked the US Department of Justice to launch an urgent criminal investigation into the Israeli National Security Minister and arrest him upon his expected arrival in New York next month.
The legal request was backed by a broad case file prepared by the pro-Palestinian rights organisation, which said it was presenting the case to US judicial authorities as a test of Washington’s commitment to upholding international law.
China has raised its purchases of oil from the Middle East in recent days, with deep discounts offered by its main supplier Saudi Arabia expected to further boost its buying, the Financial Times reported Monday.
The world is witnessing one of the most horrific onslaughts and siege against Palestinian civilians in Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces, which show no end to their appetite for death and destruction. As we watch helplessly while the people of Gaza search for food and water, amid Israeli air strikes destroying building after building, town after town, including civilian infrastructure, we are reminded of an earlier genocide and siege in the early 1990s. Sarajevo and Srebrenica are bywords for siege and genocide during the Bosnian War of 1992-1996, and carry striking similarities to what is happening in the “complete siege” of Gaza. The siege of Sarajevo lasted for four years, and while the siege in Srebrenica lasted for “only” three years, it proved to be more detrimental due to the genocidal killing of 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys. These prolonged sieges, including the one in Gaza (which has actually been blockaded by Israel and its allies since 2006), serves as a sobering reminder of how oppressive powers use such tactics to inflict collective punishment on whole populations.
While it is essential to recognise the specific histories, approaches and geopolitical factors that contribute to each situation, both the war in Bosnia and the war in Palestine remain a struggle for control over land.
In Palestine, the occupation of the land in question took place within living memory.
What is unfathomable is the “genocidal conduct” committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group by military forces involved in these conflicts. The actions of the Bosnian Serb army in Bosnia and the Israel Defence (Occupation) Forces in Gaza have an unsettling resemblance, particularly in imposing a blockade and restricting the movement of civilians. In both cases, civilians faced (and in Palestine continue to face) immense human rights violations, including indiscriminate shelling, sniping, the demolition of religious buildings and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, including homes, schools and medical facilities. As this reign of terror is unleashed, the entire territory is cordoned off and people are unable to seek safety elsewhere. Mass graves tend to be a common factor. When Israeli soldiers left Gaza’s Al-Shifa and Nasser Hospitals after ransacking and destroying both, hundreds of decomposed dead bodies were dug-up in the hospital compounds. In Bosnia, mass graves were found across the country.
During the Bosnian War, the Serb army used hunger as a tactic to create unbearable conditions before launching a final offensive. Similarly, in Gaza, Israel has weaponised starvation against civilians. The task was made easier by the occupation state being in a position to cut off water, food and fuel supplies completely, and block humanitarian aid.
Moreover, humanitarian workers are often attacked. Since 7 October, at least 249 aid workers have been killed in Gaza, including 181 UN staff. In Bosnia, thousands of humanitarian workers were killed. Such killings are deliberate, and intended to deter NGOs and their staff from entering conflict zones, exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe affecting the local population in desperate need. EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell blamed Israel for blocking aid and closing land crossings used for transporting essential supplies. Such acts reduce the potential for peace and security.
Another disturbing aspect witnessed in both Bosnia and Palestine is the dehumanisation of the people. For instance, Bosnian Muslims were often called “balijas” (“dogs”) that must be left to die without food and water. After announcing the “complete siege” of Gaza and cutting off the food, fuel and water supplies, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced that, “We are fighting human animals and we will act accordingly.” Such abuse exposes deep-seated religious and racial hatred. Moreover, the denial of the very existence of an “undesirable population” of Muslims in Bosnia and Palestine is common among hyper-ethnonationalist forces; the Serbs and Israelis share this characteristic.
The targeting of journalists in Palestine is yet another common feature shared with Bosnia. Local and foreign journalists are often harassed, intimidated and physically attacked while doing their job. Such actions perpetuate a culture of fear and censorship, making it increasingly difficult for the international community to gain on the ground knowledge and a comprehensive understanding of what is going on.
Whether in Bosnia or occupied Palestine, the displacement of millions of people has far-reaching consequences.
They include not only the immediate loss of homes, belongings and security, but also the long-term challenges of rebuilding lives and addressing the physical and psychological effects on displaced individuals. The war in Bosnia displaced at least 2.2 million people, and the ongoing war in Gaza has already displaced 80 per cent of the population: that’s 1.8m people.
In any war, women face a higher risk of sexual and physical violence, which has severe and long-lasting physical and psychological consequences. Although, the violence in Gaza mirrors that in Bosnia with civilians targeted disproportionately, it is the vulnerable sections of society such as children, pregnant women and the elderly and sick people who are most at risk. This, of course, is entirely deliberate on the part of the aggressors.
Thirty years after Bosnia, we are again seeing a world watching as genocide unfolds. Political and diplomatic bias, as well as military support for one side or the other, makes members of the international community complicit in what is happening. In Bosnia, the West was determined to make sure that a Muslim state did not materialise in Europe after the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. In occupied Palestine, the settler-colonial state of Israel acts as a “bastion of European civilisation in a sea of barbarism”, to quote its early proponents. The latest crisis is entirely man-made.
Although, the US Congress and the EU have condemned starvation as a weapon of war, both have failed to take strong action to hold Israel accountable for its actions in Palestine. Similarly, the US and Europe condemned the genocide in Srebrenica but failed to take any measures while the mass slaughter was going on. In fact, the US responded very differently to the situation by saying that, “We are not and we cannot be the worlds’ policeman.”
As a Senator, Joe Biden openly blamed the West for its failure to intervene with air power in Bosnia. He also visited the country at the time of the siege and expressed his anger over the atrocities: “Shame on the West,” he railed. As US president, though, he has an altogether different stance towards Bosnia, whereby he favours Bosnian Serb and Croat hardliners while side-lining the Muslims. Palestinians and Bosnians alike have called Biden’s foreign policy ‘hypocritical’ and ‘deeply flawed’. Unquestioned US support for Israel echoes Senator Biden’s 1986 statement that, “If there were not an Israel, we’d have to invent one.” He repeated that in October, as America’s commitment to uphold international law and its own federal law flew out of the window in order to protect the Zionist state.
The genocide in Srebrenica was recognised by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice as such, but the ICJ failed to classify the entire conflict as genocidal in nature. The current appalling situation in Gaza also raises the same questions about the international community’s responsibility to prevent genocide occurring, whether in Gaza or elsewhere. It also challenges the credibility of the West in claiming to uphold international laws and conventions in the pursuit of peace and justice around the world, not least in Bosnia and Palestine.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
The price of Brent crude has reached its lowest since February 27, before the war started.
Published On 25 Jun 202625 Jun 2026
Oil prices have extended their decline to levels last seen before the start of the Iran war, as expectations of rising supply from the Middle East outweighed demand concerns.
Prompt-month Brent crude futures for August delivery fell $1.06 (1.44 percent) to $72.68 a barrel by 06:39 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost 76 cents (1.08 percent) to $69.58 a barrel.
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Both contracts hit their lowest since February 27.
August Brent was trading lower than September, which was priced at $73.59, signalling ample short-term supply.
Brent had fallen by more than $3 on Wednesday as supply concerns eased, while WTI settled down nearly $3.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told a forum that flows through the Strait of Hormuz were close to those before the start of the Iran war, with at least 20 million barrels having exited the strait in the past 24 hours.
A return to complete normality would take a few weeks, however, because the strait needs to be cleared of mines, he added.
Rising Middle East supply, together with Iran set to boost sales after a temporary reprieve from US sanctions, drove down prices of physical crude oil cargoes around the world.
New routes
An initial accord last week to end the US-Israeli war with Iran, which began on February 28, has allowed the resumption of traffic through the strait.
The accord set up a 60-day period of negotiations to tackle tougher issues, such as Iran’s nuclear programme.
Wright said oil would continue to flow through the strait even if the deal did not hold, and that Iran would not be able to close it again.
Tehran has said it plans to impose what it calls maritime service fees, as opposed to tolls, while the United States argues it is an international waterway and therefore should not be charged.
Oman opened temporary routes on Wednesday to ease tanker departures from the strait, with the International Maritime Organization and Omani authorities coordinating movements.
On Thursday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned against any crossings of the Strait of Hormuz without authorisation, saying vessels not complying “will be dealt with” and condemning the new routes.
Just past noon, a young man appeared on the north side of San Vicente Boulevard, a block west of Hauser, and eyeballed the flow of westbound traffic.
When he saw an opening, he slid across to the median strip, where he waited for eastbound traffic to let up before crossing over to the south side of San Vicente to pick up some takeout food. And then he retraced his steps across the 150-foot wide thoroughfare that knifes through the heart of the city along what once was the Red Car line of the Pacific Electric Railway.
He should have used the nearby crosswalk, but there aren’t enough of those on the boulevard, so pedestrians routinely skitter and scoot across the street like they’re in a game of Frogger.
I watched this drama the other day from Dam Good Coffee, where I met with two guys who live in the neighborhood and, in their spare time, have been doing a lot of thinking. They’re fine-tuning a pitch to reengineer the boulevard, reduce traffic, improve access to two new transit lines and transform the Mid-City portion of San Vicente Boulevard — from the Beverly Center on the west to just past La Brea on the east — into a 3-mile, 30-acre linear park.
Ambitious. Outlandish. Insane.
From left, Catherine Geanacouras, Oren Hadar and Michael Wacht of the San Vicente Park Foundation have a plan to turn a stretch of San Vicente Boulevard into a greenway.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
It’s all of that and a longshot undertaking, given the countless obstacles that can derail their dream. But Oren Hadar, a sound engineer, and Michael Wacht, an architect, are serious, along with a small coalition of neighborhood believers.
“One of the things I always say is L.A. needs to get back into the business of taking big swings,” Hadar said. He is motivated in part by the fact that his two young kids don’t have a nearby park to play in.
The big swing comes at a time when Los Angeles has just fallen from 90th to 93rd in terms of park acreage, investment and accessibility in the annual Trust for Public Lands ranking of the 100 largest cities in the U.S. You’d think a city with great weather and thousands of apartment dwellers with little or no outdoor space would fight its way into the top 10 rather than settle for sinking to the bottom of the heap.
“What if L.A.’s next great park was already here, hiding in plain sight?” a narrator asks in a video that appears on the group’s San Vicente Park website.
Local resident Jo and her dog Elle carefully cross San Vicente Boulevard in Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
Sun-baked asphalt would give way to turf. Pedestrians and cyclists would have more breathing room. There’d be far less traffic.
“You can put in micro forests,” Wacht said. “You can do farmers markets. You can do growing areas. You can do fountains. Playgrounds.”
Catherine Geanuracos, a CicLAvia board member who was an advocate for turning the Silver Lake Reservoir into an aquatic park, joined our conversation and called the idea “eminently feasible.”
“I think this is what makes L.A. great,” Geanuracos said. She’s lived in New York City and San Francisco and thinks there’s greater opportunity here for engaged residents to advance their civic improvement ideas.
The advocates said they’d gotten some encouragement from Councilmembers Heather Hutt and Katy Yaroslavsky, whose districts include the area of the proposed park. Hutt’s office sent me a statement saying she supports “effrorts to create more walkable, green communities.” She said she has encouraged the group to keep exploring the vision, and she looks forward to hearing input from various other neighborhood groups.
Hadar writes a blog called The Future Is L.A., which is part love letter to Los Angeles and part lament on unmet potential.
“Just about every other major American city has a policy and research think tank dedicated to pursuing ideas that could make the city better,” Hadar recently wrote, calling for L.A. to have its own.
I don’t want to say the park idea’s chances are slim, but let’s look at a few hurdles.
Traffic passes through the intersection of San Vicente Boulevard and La Brea in Los Angeles on.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
L.A. city government has trouble managing existing parks and even the open spaces around City Hall, so how can it build and care for another 30 acres of greenery?
The cost would be in the millions, and the cup does not runneth over.
And then there’s the biggest pothole of all on the road to pastoral wonder:
Creating the park would mean squeezing off one or two lanes of traffic in each direction of San Vicente. That would dump more cars onto surrounding streets and set up another road diet clash that pits car culture against growing demand for a city that is safer and more inviting for those who walk, bike and use transit.
All of this would be examined in a feasibility study the advocates are raising money for. But the supporters claim San Vicente is lightly traveled compared to Wilshire, Pico and Olympic, so stealing traffic lanes wouldn’t be catastrophic.
I mentioned that I’d think twice about sending kids to play in a median strip park. But the supporters said San Vicente would become more of a neighborhood service street than a thruway, with safer crossings into the new park, which by the way already has plenty of full-grown trees.
When I took a walk and polled people on the park idea, I got mixed reactions.
“That’s a bad idea,” said a man who was walking along the median strip. He said he thought that after the addition of bike lanes a few years ago squeezed vehicular traffic, San Vicente became more dangerous, and the idea of a park between lanes of traffic sounded disastrous to him.
Miguel Lopez looked like he was trying to bring the park vision to life. He sat on the median strip reading a book and smiled when he was shown a rendering of San Vicente Park.
Blanca Vanburian practices tai chi in her yard along San Vicente Boulevard on Wednesday.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Blanca Vanburian, who was doing a variation of Tai Chi on the lawn outside her apartment building, had several good questions, including one about whether the city could be trusted to maintain a new park. She said a lot of residents would be concerned about new traffic flows through side streets, and she wondered if the park would attract more homeless people.
Hadar told her the feasibility study would probe all of that, and the more she heard, the more Vanburian came around to the idea of the park.
“It’s up to us how we use public space,” Wacht said, looking out on a particularly unattractive stretch of roadway that generates so much exhaust and serves as a barrier, dividing two neighborhoods. “I get disappointed when I see so much of it devoted to this, and it’s keeping us from being more of a cohesive neighborhood.”
Margaret Free walks three basset hounds, named Bob, Doris and Ruth, along San Vicente Boulevard in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Margaret Free was walking three Basset hounds — Bob, Doris and Ruth. She said she and the dogs could be counted as four votes in favor of the park.
A woman named Jo safely managed a Frogger crossing with her dog, Elle. Jo said she was absolutely in favor of a park and doesn’t think losing lanes of vehicle traffic is a bad thing, but she feared backlash from drivers who disagree and asked me to withhold her last name.
Joshua Mock, owner of Dam Good Coffee, said everyone would benefit from the park, especially neighborhood children. “It’d be dope,” he said, “and good for business.”
June 10 (UPI) — Iran said it launched strikes against U.S. military bases in neighboring countries in and around the Persian Gulf early Wednesday in retaliation for American “aggression” after U.S. forces conducted strikes on targets in southern Iran.
Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Iran’s central command, said in a statement published by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency that the “brave Army of the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps” carried out a “powerful assault” on U.S. military assets in the region.
“The criminal U.S. military should know that if aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran is repeated, even more severe and widespread attacks will be carried out against the designated target bank in the region, it added.
The statement was accompanied by a photo showing six ground-launched ballistic missiles blasting off from an undisclosed desert location but it was unclear if it was of Wednesday’s strikes as the image was undated and uncredited.
The IRGC claimed missiles were fired at Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti airbase, where U.S. F-35 fighter jets and other aircraft operate out of, and that facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain were also attacked.
It said that the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain was targeted with drones.
The attacks had yet to be verified but Jordan’s armed forces said they downed five Iranian missiles targeting the country’s al-Azraq district, 60 miles east of the capital, Amman.
The Kuwaiti military, in a post on X just after 3 a.m. local time, said its air defenses were “currently intercepting hostile aerial targets.”
Bahrain’s interior ministry issued multiple alerts around the same time, advising residents that the air-raid siren had been sounded, urging them not to panic and to move to the nearest safe place to shelter immediately.
No deaths or injuries were reported.
The escalation came almost immediately after U.S. Central Command announced that it had completed “self-defense strikes” ordered by President Donald Trump in response to the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter earlier Tuesday.
CENTCOM said in a statement early Wednesday that U.S. Air Force and Navy fighter jets struck Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz “with precision munitions’ in an approximately four-hour-long operation.
“The operation was a proportional response to recent attacks on U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional water,” said CENTCOM.
The ratcheting up of tensions prompted Beijing and Moscow to call on both sides to apply the brakes.
“China is deeply concerned over the latest developments regarding Iran. Relevant parties need to remain calm, exercise restraint, stop exacerbating confrontation and escalating tensions, take concrete actions to ease the situation, stick to political and diplomatic means for resolving disputes, and work for an early realization of a comprehensive and lasting cease-fire,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Wednesday.
In a post on X, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Moscow was very worried about what she called “the new spiral of U.S.-Iran armed confrontation.”
She called on both parties to show restraint and halt military attacks immediately, adding that Russia stood ready to assist in finding and implementing “mutually acceptable negotiated solutions” to the crisis.
President Donald Trump discusses renovations to the Lincoln Reflecting Pool and makes an announcement on coal in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday. Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo
Italians who took part in a humanitarian aid flotilla for Gaza said Wednesday that when the Israeli army attacked them last month in the Mediterranean in violation of international law, they abducted some activists, and subjected them to ill-treatment amounting to torture, Anadolu reports.
“This time, the Israeli army responded to the flotilla much more violently” than in past humanitarian efforts, Antonio La Piccirella, who took part in the Global Sumud Flotilla’s 2026 Spring Mission, told a press conference in Rome.
“There were two attacks, one of them off the coast of Europe. In the attack between Italy and Greece, they abducted two of our members, further violating international law. The other intervention was carried out in broad daylight and lasted for one-and-a-half days.”
La Piccirella said Israel last year allocated $180 million to anti-flotilla propaganda in order to fight them and build up a sense of “impunity,” and that this year they spent far more, some $760 million.
This propaganda was carried out through disinformation and aimed to create communities sympathetic to Israel in Europe and the US, he said.
Emphasizing that they would continue to take action in the future, La Piccirella said: “We are concerned with actions against the naval blockade of Palestine (and promoting) humanitarian aid, and international law.
“The international situation is constantly changing, and so is our strategy. So we repeat that we will definitely continue to do something,” he said.
– Forced to kneel and be humiliated
Italian journalist Alessandro Mantovani, who also took part in the spring mission, stressed that after being detained he was not even allowed to say that he was a journalist.
“From the very beginning, we were beaten and forced into humiliating positions. When we were taken to their military ships, we were pushed down face-first onto the deck, tied up, then forced to kneel and kept in the same extremely uncomfortable position for hours. When we were brought to the ship that we all called the prison ship, we were systematically beaten,” he said.
The face-down positions he described fit video footage posted online by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in which the activists were forced to kneel and were subjected to abusive language, mistreatment which drew fierce criticism from numerous countries.
Mantovani said he still has problems with his jaw because of the blows he received and that his jaw may have been dislocated.
The Italian journalist said the Israeli army treated Turkish activists especially badly.
“I think I can say that the Turks were treated even worse than the others; torture also has a geopolitical dimension,” he said.
Turkish leaders have been at the international forefront of condemning Israel’s genocide in Gaza as well as the famine and near-starvation of its populace due to a long-standing blockade of food, medicine, and other humanitarian supplies. The blockade was due to be relaxed in recent months, but many rights groups and international observers say the situation has improved little if at all.
Mantovani pointed out that the Global Sumud Flotilla was detained at night during its first voyage last year, while during this latest voyage it was detained in broad daylight.
He stressed that the Israeli army was not ashamed to show that it attacked unarmed people with weapons.
