2024-05-19 20:00

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Turkish drone identifies heat source suspected to be helicopter's wreckage DUBAI, May 20 (Reuters) - A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister crashed on Sunday as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog, an Iranian official told Reuters, and rescuers were struggling to reach the site of the incident. The official said the lives of Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were "at risk following the helicopter crash", which happened on the way back from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan in Iran's northwest. "We are still hopeful but information coming from the crash site is very concerning," the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. State TV quoted an official as saying at least one passenger and one crew member had been in contact with rescuers. A Turkish drone identified a source of heat suspected to be the helicopter's wreckage and had shared the coordinates of the possible crash site with Iranian authorities, Anadolu news agency said on X. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate power with a final say on foreign policy and Iran's nuclear programme, sought to reassure Iranians, saying there would be no disruption to state affairs. Iranian state media said bad weather caused the crash and was complicating rescue efforts. State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a U.S.-made Bell 212 helicopter. The chief of staff of Iran's army ordered all resources of the army and the elite Revolutionary Guards to be put to use in search and rescue operations. Earlier, the national broadcaster had stopped all regular programming to show prayers being held for Raisi across the country. In the early hours of Monday, it showed a rescue team, wearing bright jackets and head torches, huddled around a GPS device as they searched a pitch-black mountainside on foot amid a snowy blizzard. “We are thoroughly searching every inch of the general area of the crash," state media quoted a regional army commander as saying. "The area has very cold, rainy, and foggy weather conditions. The rain is gradually turning into snow." Neighbouring countries expressed concern and offered assistance in any rescue. The White House said U.S. President Joe Biden had been briefed on reports about the crash. Turkey said it had assigned a drone, a helicopter, vehicles and a rescue team after a request by Iranian authorities. The European Union offered emergency satellite mapping technology. HARDLINER, POSSIBLE SUCCESSOR TO KHAMENEI The crash comes at a time of growing dissent within Iran over an array of political, social and economic crises. Iran's clerical rulers face international pressure over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme and its deepening military ties with Russia during the war in Ukraine. Since Iran's ally Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, provoking Israel's assault on Gaza, conflagrations involving Iran-aligned groups have erupted throughout the Middle East. Raisi, 63, was elected president in 2021, and since taking office has ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers. In Iran's dual political system, split between the clerical establishment and the government, it is Raisi's 85-year-old mentor Khamenei, supreme leader since 1989, who holds decision-making power on all major policies. For years many have seen Raisi as a strong contender to succeed Khamenei, who has endorsed Raisi's main policies. Raisi's victory in a closely managed election in 2021 brought all branches of power under the control of hardliners, after eight years when the presidency had been held by pragmatist Hassan Rouhani and a nuclear deal negotiated with powers including Washington. However, Raisi's standing may have been dented by widespread protests against clerical rule and a failure to turn around Iran's economy, hamstrung by Western sanctions. Raisi had been at the Azerbaijani border on Sunday to inaugurate the Qiz-Qalasi Dam, a joint project. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, who said he had bid a "friendly farewell" to Raisi earlier in the day, offered assistance in the rescue. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/helicopter-iranian-presidents-convoy-accident-says-strate-tv-2024-05-19/

2024-05-19 17:50

May 19 (Reuters) - Workers in Baltimore were preparing to clear a crashed cargo ship nearly as long as the Eiffel Tower from the channel it is blocking, officials said on Sunday, almost two months after the vessel downed the Francis Scott Key bridge, paralyzing a major eastern U.S. port. The unified command organizations overseeing the response said work would begin early on Monday to move the cargo ship Dali to a local marine terminal. Maryland Governor Wes Moore told NBC's Meet the Press that workers were on track to completely clear the channel this month, which would restore full access to the busiest port for car shipments in the U.S. "By the end of May, we'll have that federal channel reopened and within days, we're going to have that massive vessel, the Dali, out of that federal channel," Moore said. Federal investigators said in a preliminary report last week that the Dali had lost power several times before crashing into the Key Bridge. The impact caused the bridge to collapse, killing six road construction workers and hindering vessel traffic through the channel and vehicle traffic along the I-95 corridor in the U.S. Northeast. Authorities have opened four temporary channels since the crash, allowing some shipping to resume. Crews set off controlled explosions last week to allow them to remove a portion of the fallen bridge from the bow of the Dali, which was necessary to next allow salvage crews to haul away the twisted metal wreckage using cranes and barges, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said. Maryland state officials estimate it will cost $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion to rebuild the bridge and anticipates completion by fall 2028. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/baltimore-workers-move-crashed-cargo-ship-that-downed-bridge-2024-05-19/

2024-05-19 16:11

LISBON, May 19 (Reuters) - A bright comet fragment lit up the skies over parts of Spain and Portugal late on Saturday, according to the European Space Agency (ESA), with one Lisbon resident saying the dazzling display "felt like a movie". On Sunday morning, the ESA shared on X a video New Tab, opens new tab captured by its "fireball camera" of what it described as a "stunning meteor" over the skies of the western Spanish city of Caceres, near the Portuguese border. But it later New Tab, opens new tab said it appeared to be a "small piece of a comet" and not a meteor, estimating it flew over Spain and Portugal at a speed of 45 km (28 miles) per second before burning up over the Atlantic. "The likelihood of any meteorites being found is very low," the ESA said. In both countries, videos shot in several cities and towns went viral on social media, showing the object crossing the night sky at high speed and illuminating it in bright tones of blue and green. The Spanish Calar Alto astronomical observatory also said a preliminary analysis New Tab, opens new tab by Andalusia's Institute of Astrophysics revealed the object had a "cometary origin". During a concert in the Portuguese city of Barcelos, the object was filmed streaking across the sky as the singer performed. Another video showed the skies of Porto, Portugal's second biggest city, turning bright for a few seconds. Many contacted emergency services to report what happened. A spokesperson for the Spanish Emergency service 112, in Madrid, told Europa Press news agency it had received several calls. Lisbon resident Bernardo Taborda, 31, told Reuters he was walking around the city with friends when the sky suddenly turned bright green: "It almost looked like daylight ... we all looked back and saw it." "It felt like a movie, we all looked at each other and we were stunned," Taborda said. "It was amazing." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/science/comet-fragment-lights-up-sky-over-spain-portugal-like-movie-2024-05-19/

2024-05-19 09:59

KABUL, May 19 (Reuters) - At least 47 people have died after continued heavy rain and flooding in northern Afghanistan, an official said on Sunday, a day after a similar number were killed in a central province. Shamsudden Mohammedi, head of the information department for Faryab province in the north, told Reuters at least 300 hundred houses were destroyed, based on initial reports. On Saturday, at least 50 died in the central province of Ghor, said Mawlawi Abdul Hai Zaeem, the head of the province's information department. Afghanistan is prone to natural disasters, and the United Nations considers it one of countries most vulnerable to climate change. Last week, flash floods caused by heavy rains devastated villages in northern Afghanistan, killing 315 and injuring more than 1,600, authorities said on Sunday. On Wednesday, a helicopter used by the Afghan air force crashed due to "technical issues" during attempts to recover the bodies of people who had fallen into a river in Ghor province, killing one and injuring 12, the defence ministry said. Afghanistan has faced a shortfall in aid after the Taliban took over as foreign forces withdrew in 2021. Development aid, which formed the backbone of government finances, was slashed. The shortfall has worsened in subsequent years as foreign governments grapple with competing global crises and growing condemnation of the Taliban's curbs on Afghan women. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/forty-seven-dead-heavy-rain-floods-northern-afghanistan-official-says-2024-05-19/

2024-05-19 08:20

KYIV, May 19 (Reuters) - Ukraine has no plans to limit energy supplies to consumers on Sunday but will maintain significant electricity imports, the Ukrainian energy ministry said. "No restrictions are planned for today, but the ministry is asking consumers to consume electricity in an economical and responsible manner. This is important for balancing the power system and stabilising energy supply," it said in a statement. Imports are expected to decrease to 13,159 megawatt hours (MWh) on Sunday from 20,411 MWh on Saturday and 22,489 MWh on Friday. Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's energy sector have intensified since March, resulting in significant damage and blackouts in many regions. The attacks have caused more than $1 billion of damage to the sector, said energy minister German Galushchenko, leading to the loss of 8,000 MWh of generating capacity from the energy system. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ukraine-plans-unrestricted-power-supply-sunday-imports-remain-high-2024-05-19/

2024-05-19 07:48

Russia shoots down 12 ATACMS Russia says it shoots down 62 drones over Russia Slavyansk oil refinery halted after hit Zelenskiy sees Russia stepping up offensive MOSCOW, May 19 (Reuters) - Russia said on Sunday that Ukraine launched a major 62-drone attack on Russian regions forcing one oil refinery in southern Russia to halt operations, and that Kyiv's forces had fired U.S., French and Ukrainian missiles at Russian-held territory. Russia shot down at least 103 drones, including 62 over Russian regions, as well as Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) over Crimea, French guided "Hammer" bombs and U.S. High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). Local officials said six drones crashed onto the territory of an oil refinery in Slavyansk in Russia's southern Krasnodar region. Interfax news agency said the refinery halted work after the attack. TASS quoted an official at the refinery as saying the charges carried by the Ukrainian-launched drones were bigger than previous attacks and that they included steel balls. Slavyansk refinery is a private plant with a capacity of 4 million metric tons of oil per year, about 80,000 barrels per day. A Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters in Kyiv that Ukraine's security service SBU and military drones struck the Slavyansk refinery and a military airfield in Russia's southern Krasnodar region in overnight attacks. The Ukrainian navy also said it had destroyed the Russian Black Sea Fleet's Project 266-M Kovrovets minesweeper. Russia said its forces had defeated Ukraine's 24th and 42nd mechanized brigades and the 125th Air Defense Brigade at Lukiantsi, Vesele and Radhospne in the Kharkiv region and repelled attacks by Kyiv's forces at other points in the region. Russia has reported a rise in Ukrainian attacks on its territory since its forces opened a new front in northeastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region earlier this month. President Vladimir Putin says Russia is carving out a buffer zone there to protect Russia from such attacks, which Russia says risk triggering a broader war between Russia and the West if Ukraine uses Western weapons. Putin said on Friday that Russia had no plans currently to take Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city, The White House said on Friday that U.S. policy on not encouraging Ukraine's use of U.S. weapons against Russian sovereign territory had not changed. "We do not encourage nor do we enable attacks using U.S.-supplied weapons systems inside Russian territory. That’s the policy," John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, told reporters. "That has not changed." That remark came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday in Kyiv that the United States does not encourage Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia with U.S.-supplied weapons but believes it is a decision Kyiv should make for itself. CRIMEA Russia said on Saturday its forces had captured the village of Starytsia in Kharkiv region and that they had defeated Ukrainian units along the front, including in the Sumy region. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and along with parts of four other regions its forces control, considers the territories - which amount to about 18% of Ukraine - to be part of Russia now. That stance has been rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he will not rest until all Russian troops are ejected from Ukraine. Zelenskiy told Agence France-Presse in an interview New Tab, opens new tab that he expected Russia to step up its offensive in the northeast and warned Kyiv had only a quarter of the air defences it needs to defend Ukraine. AFP also quoted him as saying that while the West did not want Ukraine to lose the war, it was afraid of what a defeat for Russia might mean. (This May 19 story has been corrected to fix the conversion to 80,000 bpd in paragraph 5) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-ukraine-struck-crimea-with-atacms-60-drones-shot-down-oil-refinery-2024-05-19/