Funerals for medics killed in Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon
NewsFeed Funerals were held for paramedics killed by two Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon on Friday. The Israeli military has repeatedly attacked health facilities and medical teams in Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of using them to conceal weapons and fighters. Published On 23 May 202623 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
US Secret Service fatally shoots gunman who fired at White House checkpoint
Officers returned fire after suspect pulled weapon from bag, with a bystander also wounded. A man has been shot dead by US Secret Service officers after opening fire on a security checkpoint near the White House, with a bystander wounded in the gunfire. Shortly after 6pm on Saturday (22:00 GMT), the suspect approached a Secret Service checkpoint at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, pulled a weapon from his bag, and began shooting at officers posted there. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The Secret Service, the federal agency responsible for protecting the president, confirmed the sequence of events in an official statement, saying a preliminary investigation indicated that the suspect had concealed his weapon in a bag before drawing it at the checkpoint. The agents returned fire, striking the man, who was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. A bystander was also hit during the shooting, though authorities said it remained unclear whether they were struck by the suspect’s initial gunfire or during the exchange that followed. President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time and was not harmed. The White House was immediately placed under lockdown. No Secret Service personnel were injured. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said he was closely monitoring the situation and would issue a statement soon. “Tonight’s shooting is a reminder of the dangers our law enforcement officers face every day,” Mullin said on X. Republicans in the House of Representatives posted on X to confirm Trump was safe, while the White House itself issued no immediate statement on the president’s condition. Advertisement Steve Scalise, the Republican House Majority Leader, posted on X, expressing his thoughts for the president and adding, “We live in dangerous times.” More than 30 shots were heard from the White House North Lawn, according to Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from the scene. Journalists on the lawn were ordered to run and take shelter inside the press briefing room. Police cordoned off access to the surrounding area, and National Guard troops blocked reporters from approaching. Halkett said the suspect had recently been issued a stay-away order, which he had ignored. He approached the area and started shooting, at which point the Secret Service officers returned fire. The suspect was later transferred to George Washington Hospital, Halkett said. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that his agency was on the scene supporting the Secret Service, saying on social media that he would “update the public as we’re able”. White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung sought to project calm, posting on X that Trump was “working at 8pm. Can’t stop, won’t stop.” Saturday’s shooting comes less than a month after what law enforcement authorities described as an attempted assassination of Trump on April 25, when a suspect was arrested at the Washington hotel hosting the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, a gathering of journalists and public figures. “These incidents are happening with increasing frequency,” Halkett said. That incident raised new questions about the security arrangements around the president. The identity of the suspect and his motive have not been publicly released. The Secret Service said the investigation is ongoing. Adblock test (Why?)
Iranian sources lay out Iran-US deal details
NewsFeed Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem reveals details of Iran’s position on the potential peace agreement with the US. US President Donald Trump earlier revealed the two countries were close to an Memorandum of Understanding. Published On 24 May 202624 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Five police officers, 13 year-old boy killed in Israeli attack on Gaza
Attack on a police post in northern Gaza comes as dozens of people were wounded in Israeli attacks in the past 48 hours. By Al Jazeera Staff and Reuters Published On 23 May 202623 May 2026 An Israeli air strike has killed at least five police officers and a 13-year-old boy, Gaza police say, as Israel continues its attacks across the Gaza Strip despite the “ceasefire” in place. Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City on Saturday, said that the police officers were killed on the spot, and according to sources at al-Shifa Hospital, at least one civilian on a nearby street was also killed. At least 10 others were wounded. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list In a statement, the Gaza police directorate said two missiles had hit a police post in the at-Twam area in northern Gaza. “This is not an isolated incident, it’s part of the pattern that the Israeli military, not only since the ceasefire started, but also before that, we see in a pattern of deliberate targeting of police, local security personnel and law enforcement structures across Gaza,” Mahmoud said. The missile strike on a police post comes as the 10,000-strong police force in Gaza has emerged as a sticking point in talks to advance United States President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza. The war that Israel launched following the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas was halted by a ceasefire on October 10, 2025, but the Israeli military has carried out almost daily attacks on Gaza since then and maintains a strict security regime. Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave has now killed at least 72,775 Palestinians, with 883 people killed since the ceasefire came into effect. The bodies of eight Palestinians, along with 29 wounded people, arrived at hospitals across Gaza in the past 48 hours, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. A ‘power vacuum’ The attacks on Gaza’s police force further threaten the distribution of aid while the Palestinian enclave continues to struggle with a humanitarian crisis. Advertisement Israel has placed severe restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza even as the ceasefire was supposed to ramp up the amount of supplies entering the Palestinian enclave. “This is part of an effort to further plunge the Gaza Strip into further chaos, as well as dismantle whatever is left of the civilian order,” Mahmoud said, adding that it was worsening a power vacuum. The strikes make it even more difficult to secure aid convoys to the areas most in need and “increase the possibility of hijacking and looting”, he said. Meanwhile, in recent days, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has reported that Palestinian children in Gaza are suffering from an increase in skin infections due to the surge in pests, including rats, lice, fleas and mites. UNRWA said that health teams are able to treat about 40 percent of the thousands of cases, adding that “usually this would be easily managed with simple remedies, but they are not available”. “In Gaza, basic medicines are in short supply and many children are left without the treatment they need,” the UNRWA said. Adblock test (Why?)
More than 500 children killed in measles outbreak in Bangladesh
Most cases recorded in the country have been among children aged between six months and five years. By AFP and Anadolu Published On 23 May 202623 May 2026 A measles outbreak in Bangladesh has killed more than 500 children in the deadliest surge there in decades. The death toll continued to rise on Saturday, with 13 children passing away in the past 24 hours alone, increasing the total to 512, according to a health department tally that began on March 15. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Hospitals in the capital Dhaka, which have been overwhelmed with cases, have set up dedicated wards but lack sufficient numbers of intensive care beds. Measles, which has no specific treatment once caught, is a highly contagious viral disease that spreads through coughs and sneezes. The disease primarily affects children and can cause severe complications, including pneumonia, brain inflammation and death, particularly among malnourished or unvaccinated children. It remains one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable child deaths worldwide. The South Asian nation of 175 million people has rolled out a mass vaccination drive to combat the outbreak. United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) country chief Rana Flowers said this week that the campaign has reached 18 million children. But the health department said the full impact of the vaccinations would take months to be felt. UNICEF said on Wednesday that gaps in immunisation worsened during and after the chaos of the 2024 student-led uprising that toppled the government, leaving large numbers of children unprotected. The health department’s death toll comes after the government said the outbreak was now contained, noting a decline in cases in several previously hard-hit areas. Advertisement Most cases recorded during the current outbreak have been among children aged between six months and five years. Doctors say many of the children arriving at hospitals were already critically ill. “Though measles is highly contagious, a healthy baby with no complications can survive with minimal medication,” Ainul Islam Khan, a paediatrician at Dhaka’s Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital, told the AFP news agency. “Here, most children came to the hospital with respiratory distress and infections in the eyes, throat and lungs.” UNICEF stressed the need to boost vaccination programmes and increase funding for health facilities, surveillance and data systems in the future. A policy brief published on Thursday by the Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership warned that vaccination gaps could worsen antimicrobial resistance in Bangladesh. Adblock test (Why?)
Israeli forces arrest two children in occupied West Bank village
NewsFeed Video shows Israeli soldiers forcing two siblings to sit on the ground with their hands behind their heads beside a military jeep, before blindfolding one of them and arresting both children during a raid on al-Mughayyir village in the occupied West Bank. The village has become a flashpoint for Israeli raids, deadly settler attacks and displacement. Published On 23 May 202623 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
WHO raises Ebola public health risk to ‘very high’ in DR Congo
Provincial gov’t in Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak, has banned public gatherings to stop the spread of the virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) has upgraded the public health risk of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from high to “very high” as the deadly outbreak continues to spread. WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced on Friday that they were revising their risk assessment for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, to “very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at global level.” Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Tedros also said on X that the situation in the DRC was “deeply worrisome”. “So far, 82 cases have been confirmed, with seven confirmed deaths. But we know the epidemic in the DRC is much larger. There are now almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths,” he wrote. He added that additional WHO personnel had been deployed to the epicentre of the DRC’s outbreak in Ituri province, to support affected communities. The new strain of the virus currently has no approved vaccine or treatment, and the WHO declared it an emergency of international concern on Sunday. Ebola is an often-fatal virus that causes fever, body aches, vomiting and diarrhoea. It spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on Friday that volunteers are going door-to-door in the area at the centre of the outbreak, to combat misinformation about Ebola and explain how people can protect themselves and seek care. “Community reactions remain mixed. For some people the outbreak is very real and they are taking information on how to protect themselves,” Gabriela Arenas, the Regional Operations Coordinator for the IFRC Africa Region, told reporters via video link from Nairobi. “For others, there’s still suspicion and misinformation claiming that Ebola is fabricated.” Advertisement Public health measures Reporting from the eastern Congolese city of Goma, in neighbouring North Kivu province, Al Jazeera’s Alain Uaykani said authorities are taking “serious measures” against the outbreak as the situation escalates. In an official order on Friday, Ituri’s provincial government restricted funerals, saying burials must now be conducted only by specialised teams and prohibited the transport of dead bodies by non-medical vehicles. It also limited public gatherings to a maximum of 50 people and suspended the local football league. This came a day after residents in Ituri province’s Rwampara town torched an Ebola treatment centre and clashed with police while trying to recover the body of a victim on Thursday. “The way things are going in Ituri, they are fearing that more cases are spreading because the majority of the cases reported across the region are still coming from Ituri,” Uaykani said. The world should not underestimate the risk posed by this Ebola outbreak, Mohamed Yakub Janabi, the WHO regional director for Africa, told the Reuters news agency on Friday. “It would be a big mistake to underestimate it, especially with a virus with this strain, Bundibugyo, [for] which we don’t have the vaccine,” Janabi said, adding that the outbreak in DRC has had relatively little global attention compared with this month’s hantavirus outbreak, which affected cruise ship passengers from 23 countries, including wealthy Western nations. “You just need one contact case to put all of us at risk, so my wish and prayer is that we should give [Ebola] the attention it deserves,” he said. Moreover, the WHO director of health emergency alert and response operations, Abdirahman Mahamud, also said on Friday that the potential for this virus to spread rapidly was “high, very high, and that changed the whole dynamic”. The strain of Ebola was also documented in Uganda, but Tedros said that the situation there was “currently stable”, after one death linked to a case from DRC was reported. Tedros added that a United States national who was working in the DRC has tested positive for Ebola and was transferred to Germany for care, and there was “another American national, who is a high-risk contact, who has been transferred to the Czech Republic”. Adblock test (Why?)
French Open: Players accuse Slams of ignoring concerns as tensions rise
By Reuters Published On 22 May 202622 May 2026 A simmering dispute between players and the Grand Slams over revenue sharing intensified at the French Open, with Novak Djokovic warning the sport risked further fragmentation as leading players pressed for a greater voice in shaping its future. Several players were expected to limit their appearances at Friday’s traditional pre-tournament media day to 15 minutes, and to not conduct any additional multi-media interviews. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The tensions have been building for weeks, but the rhetoric sharpened in Paris, where players, such as Taylor Fritz, insisted that their grievances were not just about “wanting more money”. “It’s about just wanting what’s fair,” the American added. “As the tournaments make more money, we obviously want to see the revenue shared back to the players reflect that.” Players have pointed to pensions, tournament expansion, scheduling and late-night finishes among the issues fuelling frustration, alongside what several described as a persistent lack of dialogue from organisers. Russian Andrey Rublev painted a picture of a widening disconnect between players and the sport’s leadership. “When you try to communicate for so many years … they don’t hear you. They don’t answer,” Rublev said. “When you send the mail in, no one responds to official mail for months.” Rublev said the issue was not simply financial, but structural. “It’s more about are we together, and we try to do something together to grow the sport,” he said. World number one Aryna Sabalenka cast the debate as a struggle on behalf of the sport’s lesser lights rather than its leading stars. Advertisement “It’s not about me. It’s about the players who’s lower in the ranking, who is suffering,” she said. “But as the world number one, I feel like I have to stand up and to fight for those players.” Don’t mention the ‘B’ word Even so, players adopted a more cautious tone over the prospect of a boycott after Sabalenka raised the possibility earlier this month in Rome. “I don’t know if I want to start throwing around the ‘B’ word,” Fritz said. “It’s a really big deal, and I don’t think we as players should really make big threats like that unless we’re fully ready to do it.” Six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek also stopped short of endorsing drastic action. “I don’t think doing something that is not constructive will make sense,” the four-time French Open winner said. “But we want to push a bit more to get what we need.” Djokovic said he was not personally involved in the planned 15-minute media action, but aligned himself with many of the players’ broader concerns while warning against further division in the sport. “I have always been on the players’ side and tried to advocate for players’ rights and better future for players, but not only top players,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion said. “We tend to forget how little is the number of people that live from this sport.” Djokovic said the lower tiers of professional tennis were essential to the game’s long-term health and called for greater unity between governing bodies, tournaments and players. “Grand Slams, governing bodies, the governing tours, everyone. We are very fragmented,” he said. “So the further fragmentation is really hurting me personally. I really don’t like to see that.” The Serbian also pointed to golf and the divisions caused by the emergence of LIV Golf as a warning for tennis. “Let’s learn from that. Let’s try to be a bit more united and have a unifying voice into finding better structure and better future for our sport,” he said. While top ATP and WTA events redistribute around 22 percent of revenues to players, the Grand Slams are estimated to return closer to 15 percent, a gap that has become a central source of tension. French Open organisers have been arguing that tournament profits fund entire national tennis ecosystems, not just prize money. They are expected to meet player agents on Friday as discussions continue over revenue sharing and player representation. Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said she regretted the prospect of reduced media access at the start of the claycourt Grand Slam. Advertisement “It’s always regrettable because media day is an important moment for the tournament, for journalists who come from all over the world and also for the fans through the media coverage,” Mauresmo told reporters on Thursday. “We understand that there are discussions and concerns from the players, but dialogue is always preferable.” Adblock test (Why?)
Economic confidence plummets in US amid Iran war, poll shows
As petrol prices rise, new survey suggests economic confidence in the US is at -45, the worst since 2022. Published On 22 May 202622 May 2026 Only 16 percent of Americans view the economy in the United States as “good” or “excellent”, a new Gallup poll suggests, as inflation continues to rise amid the war on Iran. The survey, released on Friday, deepens US President Donald Trump’s political woes ahead of the midterm elections in November, which will determine whether his Republican Party can retain control of Congress. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The survey, dubbed Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index, showed confidence in the economy has dropped to -45. Forty-nine percent of respondents said economic conditions are poor and 34 percent rated them as fair. At the same time, 76 percent said they think the economy getting worse, while 20 percent said it is getting better. The index averages the results on economic conditions, currently at -33 and economic outlook, currently at -56. It was the worst set of findings on the economy that the index recorded since 2022 when the cost of living rose after the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Petrol costs in the US have skyrocketed since the start of the conflict with Iran late in February. The average price of one gallon (3.8 litres) of gasoline has risen to $4.55 from less than $3 before the US and Israel launched the war. According to official government reports, consumer prices overall rose in March and April due to the energy crisis. Iran has responded to the US and Israeli strikes – which killed several top officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as well as hundreds of civilians – by closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz, sending oil and gas prices soaring. Advertisement The US has also imposed a naval siege on Iranian ports, deepening the strain on energy supplies across the world. Despite the ceasefire that began in April, the blockades have persisted in the absence of a permanent end to the war, and Iran is now claiming sovereignty over Hormuz, which operated as a free international passageway before the war. Parts of the strait run through Iranian and Omani territorial waters. Although the US is one of the world’s largest oil producers, energy prices are set globally, so the disruption has spiked costs for American consumers. As a candidate, Trump promised to be a president of “peace”, saying he would pursue “America first” policies that would prioritise domestic issues over foreign interventions. But the US president joined Israel in attacking Iran without direct provocation. His administration argues that the military campaign is necessary to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons. And Trump’s own intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard has said that Tehran is not building a nuclear bomb. Trump has repeatedly argued that the cost of the war is worth it, stressing that petrol prices will drop rapidly once the conflict is over. Last month, the US State Department released a legal justification of the war, saying that Washington joined the conflict “at the request of and in the collective self-defence of its Israeli ally, as well as in the exercise of the United States’ own inherent right of self-defence”. The Gallup survey on Friday is the latest in a series of negative polls for the Trump administration. A New York Times/Sienna poll released earlier this week suggested that only 31 percent of voters approve of Trump’s handling of the war with Iran. Earlier this month, the US president suggested the economic fallout from the war and its effect on people in the US do not play a role in his approach to Iran. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody,” he said. “I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all. That’s the only thing that motivates me.” Adblock test (Why?)
French court finds Airbus, Air France guilty of manslaughter in 2009 crash
Airbus says it plans to appeal the ruling, which overturned a 2023 acquittal of both companies. By AFP and Reuters Published On 21 May 202621 May 2026 A French appeals court has found Airbus and Air France guilty of manslaughter in 2009 Rio de Janeiro-Paris crash that killed 228 people – the worst aviation disaster in the country’s history. The Paris Court of Appeal ruled on Thursday that both companies were “solely and entirely responsible for the crash of flight AF447”, and ordered a payment of 225,000 euros ($261,720) for each passenger, the maximum fine possible for corporate manslaughter. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Although the penalties are largely symbolic, they capped an eight-week trial that victims’ families saw as a last chance to find justice two years after a lower court acquitted Airbus and Air France. Both companies have repeatedly denied all charges. Following the ruling, Airbus said it would appeal to France’s highest court, saying the latest finding contradicted submissions from prosecutors and the 2023 acquittal. Prosecutors previously warned that an appeal was likely and denounced the companies’ behaviour throughout the decade-plus legal process. “Nothing has come of it – not a single word of sincere comfort,” said prosecutor Rodolphe Juy-Birmann as the trial was under way last November. “One word sums up this whole circus: indecency.” Divers recover the tail section from the Air France A330 that crashed into the south Atlantic while flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1, 2009 [File: Brazilian navy/AFP] Sensor malfunction The crash unfolded on June 1, 2009, when flight AF447 disappeared from radar screens as it headed from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to the French capital Paris with 216 passengers and 12 crew. Advertisement Two years passed before a deep-sea search uncovered the plane’s black boxes, which record flight data. Investigators found the pilots had pushed the jet into a climb as it struggled with sensors blocked with ice during a mid-Atlantic storm. The plane stalled and crashed into the ocean. While Airbus and Air France have blamed pilot error, the lawyers for passengers’ families argued that both companies knew that there was a problem with the plane’s pitot tubes, which measure flight speed. Pilots were not trained to deal with such an emergency as the tubes malfunctioned, prosecutors said, triggering alarms in the cockpit and turning off the plane’s autopilot function. Air France lawyer Pascal Weil said in October that the company “had the means to conduct high-altitude training, but we did not do so because we sincerely believed it was unnecessary”. Adblock test (Why?)