Gholamreza Shafigh, an official with the province’s crisis management department, told IRNA that the intense rainfalls caused a river in Farouj County to overflow onto the surrounding area in a period of only 20 minutes.
Heavy damage has been inflicted on the affected areas, said the official, adding that a search and rescue operation was still underway.
IRNA said 21 rescue teams have been dispatched to the northeastern province.
Protesters gathered in major cities, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Beersheba, as well as at dozens of junctions and locales, to decry what they perceive as a threat to Israel’s democracy.
The government’s reform proposals would curtail the authority of the Supreme Court and give politicians greater powers over the selection of judges.
In March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced a “pause” to allow for talks on the reforms, which were moving through parliament and split the nation.
Ongoing dialogue produced no major breakthrough, and on Wednesday parliament approved the state budget, with Netanyahu vowing to “continue our efforts to reach understandings as broad as possible on the legal reform.”
Israeli media put the number of participants in the Tel Aviv demonstration at “tens of thousands,” as has occurred on previous occasions.
Netanyahu’s government, a coalition between his Likud party and extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies, argues the changes are needed to rebalance powers between lawmakers and the judiciary.
Ayoub Kord, the director of the department of roads and transport in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, said on Saturday economic exchanges through the crossing would be suspended due to the deadly fighting.
On Saturday, the Taliban opened fire on the Iranian side at the Sasouli border post, promoting the Iranian forces to respond, IRNA reported.
Two Iranian border guards lost their lives in the clashes, which inflicted heavy damage on the Taliban, according to the officials.
Tensions have been on the rise between Tehran and Kabul over Afghanistan’s violations of a 1973 treaty on sharing water from Helmand River with Iran.
Turks across the country are heading to the polls for a second-round presidential vote, choosing between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Turks will be electing a president for a five-year term.
Erdogan, 69, defied opinion polls and came out comfortably ahead with an almost five-point lead over his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the first round on May 14. But he fell just short of the 50% needed to avoid a runoff.
Voting began at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) and will finish at 5 p.m. (1400 GMT). The outcome was expected to start becoming clear by early evening.
More than 64 million Turks are eligible to cast ballots at nearly 192,000 polling stations, including more than six million who were first-time voters on May 14.
In the first round of voting on May 14, Erdogan got 49.5 percent of support. Kilicdaroglu, the main opposition challenger, received 44.9 percent.
Last week, third-place candidate Sinan Ogan, who won 5% of the first-round vote, publicly endorsed Erdogan, further boosting the strongman leader’s chances of winning Sunday’s second and final presidential round.
More than 3.5 million Ukrainian citizens have crossed into Russia since Moscow launched its military operation more than a year ago, Vladimir Kulishov, the head of Border Guard Service, said.
Speaking to TASS news agency, Kulishov noted that “due to the aggravated humanitarian situation in the area of hostilities” Russian authorities have taken a number of steps to facilitate entry for millions of Ukrainians. The official did not clarify whether the figure represents the number of Ukrainians who have remained in Russia, or whether some of them later left the country.
Kulishov added the conflict has resulted in an “escalation of military threats” to the nation’s border, stemming from Kiev’s attempts to “stage provocative acts” and send sabotage and reconnaissance forces into Russia. Earlier this month, a Ukrainian raid in the Belgorod Region, near the Ukrainian border, left one civilian dead and several others injured.
To stave off any such incidents in the future, Russian authorities have ramped up security measures in the border area, including creating defense fortifications, Kulishov explained.
The overnight drone attacks on Kyiv that left one person dead were the largest to date, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence says.
“Last night, Russian [sic] terrorists carried out the largest drone strike on Ukraine to date,” the ministry tweeted.
“Ukraine’s air defense shot down 52 out of 54 drones,” it added.
Kyiv has been regularly targeted in recent weeks but fatalities have been rare.
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley’s doubts about Ukraine’s ability to recapture the territory it has lost to Russia since February 2022 in near future is a step forward toward the West’s understanding the reality on the ground, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sunday.
“He [Milley] said that Ukraine is likely unable to return all its territories within the 1991 borders in foreseeable future. That is a step forward toward understanding the reality on the ground,” Lavrov stated.
The top Russian diplomat also called Western military supplies to Ukraine an “unacceptable escalation,” adding that this understanding exists even in the West.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a panel to investigate allegations by the US ambassador that a Russian ship had collected weapons from a naval base near Cape Town last year, the presidency has said in a statement.
South Africa has denied claims made by the US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, on May 11 and the allegations have since caused a diplomatic row between the two countries, calling into question South Africa’s non-aligned position on the Ukraine conflict. South Africa has abstained from voting on UN resolutions about the war, saying it is impartial.
In a statement published on Sunday, the presidency said: “The President decided to establish the enquiry because of the seriousness of the allegations, the extent of public interest and the impact of this matter on South Africa’s international relations.”
The death toll from Russia’s attack on a medical facility in Dnipro on Friday has risen by one to four, according to the head of Dnipropetrovsk region military administration, Serhii Lysak.
Among the dead are a 56-year-old doctor, a 64-year-old employee of the medical facility and a 57-year-old veterinary clinic employee, Lysak said on Telegram.
Lysak did not provide any details about the identity of the fourth victim.
Russian forces struck a medical facility in the city of Dnipro on Friday morning, after intense shelling rained over central Ukraine overnight.
A veterinary clinic nearby was also hit, where animals undergoing treatment having to be dug out of the rubble.
It is the latest attack on healthcare in Ukraine and sparked widespread criticism. with Kyiv and its allies calling for Russia to be made accountable.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated veterans and current service members on Border Guards Day, saying that Russian border guards will continue protecting the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and will ensure the movement of military and civil cargo to new constituent entities of Russia.
“You, the successors and heirs of the victors’ generation, of those who defeated Nazism, continue to discharge your duty with honour and dignity, solve challenging high-priority tasks to protect the state borders, carry out border control and protection of marine resources, make an important contribution to implementing international integration projects and development of cross-border cooperation, fight transnational crime and smuggling, and prevent diversions and terrorist attacks,” Putin said in a Sunday statement.
The Russian president thanked border guards for their service, particularly those participating in the special military operation in Ukraine.
“I am confident that you will continue to act selflessly, bravely and efficiently, and will competently and effectively use all available resources and means to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia and the security of our people,” Putin added.
The president stated that Russian border guards must work in close cooperation with other units of the Federal Security Service, the Armed Forces and the National Guard of the Russian Federation, as well as regional government bodies.
“… it is vitally important to ensure fast movement of both military and civil vehicles and cargoes, including food, humanitarian aid, and construction materials on their way to new constituent entities of the Russian Federation – the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions,” Putin continued.
A wave of Russian drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital left one person dead and sparked fires around the city, officials in Kyiv stated early Sunday.
Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitshko said Ukrainian air defense forces had “already intercepted more than 20 UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)” heading toward the capital and warned that “a new wave of drones is on its way.”
The Ukrainian Air Force announced that 54 drones had been launched by Russia overnight and that 52 of them had been destroyed by Ukrainian forces.
“The enemy launched another overnight attack on military facilities and critical infrastructure in the country’s central regions, specifically Kyiv Oblast. Near the zone Air Command ‘Center’, most of the attack drones were destroyed!” the air force said in a Twitter post.
The use of such a large number of drones may be an effort by Russia’s army to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defences.
Ukrainian forces are “ready” to launch their much-touted counteroffensive, the head of the National Security and Defense Council told the BBC in an interview on Saturday. Aleksey Danilov said the military top brass are now waiting for the right moment to launch the attack.
“It could happen tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week,” Danilov answered when pressed about a potential start of the counteroffensive, which Kiev has been talking about for months.
A major assault was initially expected to start in spring or even late winter, but Kiev repeatedly postponed it, citing adverse weather conditions and the need to obtain all necessary weapons and equipment from western backers.
Danilov added it would have been “weird” for him to reveal the exact date, as “that cannot be done.” He described the planned attack as a “historic opportunity” that his nation “cannot lose” if it wants to become a “big European country.”
“We understand that we have no right to make a mistake,” he continued.
In April, The New York Times reported that Ukraine’s Western supporters might start to pressure Kiev into launching talks with Moscow should the much-anticipated offensive fail to yield any major gains.
Kiev has been sending mixed signals on the counteroffensive. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s aide, Mikhail Podoliak, told Italy’s Rai TV channel that it “has been going on for several days”. However, on Thursday, another presidential advisor, Igor Zhovkva, contradicted that statement, saying Ukrainian forces were still preparing for the operation.
Danilov denied the offensive had already begun, claiming that Ukrainian strikes against Russian “control centers” and “military equipment” were just routine operations.
Danilov’s remarks came as Russia outlined its conditions for ending the conflict with Ukraine. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told TASS on Saturday that Kiev should abandon the idea of joining NATO and the EU, guarantee the rights of minorities, and declare Russian a state language.
Ukraine must also recognize the “new territorial realities,” the high-ranking diplomat said, referring to four former Ukrainian territories that joined Russia following referendums in autumn 2022, as well as Crimea, which reunited with Russia in 2014 following another referendum.
However, Danilov stated earlier in May that there could be no peace talks “on Russia’s terms.”
Seven months after an explosion badly damaged the bridge connecting Russia to Russian-occupied Crimea, the leader of Ukraine’s intelligence service has confirmed Kyiv’s involvement in the attack.
“Since this is a logistics route that we had to cut off from the enemy, appropriate measures were taken,” said Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the domestic intelligence service SBU in a YouTube interview with Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Komarov.
He did not give details of the operation.
Most observers have long assumed Ukraine was behind the attack, although Kyiv has largely declined to comment on the incident.
Malyuk hinted in December that his agency might have had something to do with it.
At least one person is dead and another is injured after Russia shelled Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region Saturday, according to the region’s military administration.
The attack took place in the village of Shipuvate, which is about 50 kilometers (around 30 miles) from the Russian border, and in the region’s eastern Kupyansk district, according to the official, Oleh Syniehubov.
A 61-year-old woman died in Shipuvate, the regional leader said. The person injured was a man who suffered shrapnel wounds and has since been hospitalized.
At least one person is dead and two others wounded after Russia attacked 16 settlements across Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, according to the region’s military administration.
The person killed was identified as a 73-year-old woman in Novodanylivka and the two wounded people were both women in Huliaipole, according to the head of Zaporizhzhia’s military administration, Yurii Malashko.
Fifteen civilian structures have been destroyed across Zaporizhzhia, Malashko said on Telegram Saturday.
The regional leader claims 108 attacks were carried out in the following areas:
Western countries are becoming more and more involved in the Ukraine conflict day by day, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the ‘Moscow. Kremlin. Putin’ TV program.
“It’s hard to say where the breaking point is. In fact, the breaking point should bring nations of the collective West to senses, but regrettably, it is not happening. Obviously, the degree of direct and indirect involvement in this conflict by the countries of the collective West is surging day by day,” he said when asked about limits of the escalation.
Peskov was asked this question in the context of new arms supplies to Kiev.
“This may protract the conflict, but will not turn the tide drastically. It cannot turn the tide at all,” Peskov emphasized.
“Russia will press on with the [special military] operation, and Russia will ensure its interests one way or another and achieve the designated objectives,” he added.
Alireza Enyati, the Director-General for Persian Gulf Affairs at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said the two sides have been pursuing the re-opening of their missions after they officially announced the resumption of ties as part of the China-brokered deal reached in April.
To that effect, he added, meetings have been held and messages exchanged between the two sides.
Enyati said contacts between the two sides are no longer via intermediaries.
“The relations have now practically resumed, but we are waiting for the official reopening of the embassies and we hope that it will happen simultaneously or almost simultaneously between Iran and Saudi Arabia so that the circle of ties will be complete,” he added.
The official said, however, that Iran’s Embassy in Riyadh and Consulate in Jeddah have already resumed activities in a de facto way, given the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage season.
On Saturday, the Taliban opened fire on the Iranian side at the Sasouli border post, promoting the Iranian forces to respond, IRNA reported.
Two Iranian civilians were also injured in the clashes, which lasted for a few hours.
According to a statement by Iran’s Border Police Command, heavy losses were inflicted on the Taliban in the clashes.
It said the Taliban began to shoot at the Iranian side while turning a blind to the “good-neighborliness principle” and were faced with a “decisive response” on the part of the Iranian guards.
When the Taliban first opened fire, they were given warnings to respect border protocols, but the clashes continued as they refused to pay heed, the statement added.
Tensions have been running high between Iran and Afghanistan over the latter’s refusal to allow Tehran access to its share of water from Helmand River in violation of a 1973 treaty.
The delegation headed by Ghazi bin Rafea al-Anzi, a ministry of foreign affairs’ official, met with Syria’s Assistant Foreign and Expatriates Minister Ayman Sousan at the headquarters of the foreign affairs ministry in the capital Damascus, the report added.
During the meeting, al-Anzi thanked Sousan for the warm welcome and for facilitating the arrival procedure.
Meanwhile, Sousan said the ministry was fully ready to offer all the support needed to facilitate the team’s task.
Last month, Saudi Arabia and Syria agreed to resume diplomatic ties.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with President Bashar Assad in Damascus on April 18. His visit came days after Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad visited the Kngdom.
On May 9, Saudi Arabia said that it will allow its diplomats to resume work in Damascus, more than a decade after withdrawing them over the Syrian war.
Syria was reinstated in the Arab League after a 12-year suspension in May.
Assad attended the League’s 32nd summit in Jeddah last week where he hailed the meeting as a “historic opportunity” to address crises across the region.
In a meeting with Secretary General of OPEC Haitham al-Ghais, held in Tehran on Saturday, Raisi warned that a number of Western governments seek to sow division and discord among the OPEC members in order to achieve their own interests.
“In the face of those (Western) measures, the OPEC members must prevent the fulfillment of these objectives by strengthening their unity,” the president stated.
Describing constructive interaction among the OPEC members as a crucial factor in the organization’s success, Raisi added, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has always maintained constructive cooperation with the organization and we plan to continue, strengthen and promote such cooperation.”
OPEC’s raison d’être is to protect the rights of oil producers and prevent discrimination against them, the Iranian president underlined, expressing hope that OPEC would be able to control fluctuations and bring about calm to the oil market.
For his part, al-Ghais praised Iran as a founder member of OPEC that has always had fruitful, effective and constructive cooperation with the other members.
The Kuwaiti oil executive noted that Iran has always contributed to closer unity of the OPEC members, both at the ministerial and the technical level.
Expounding on the latest situation in the oil market, al-Ghais expressed hope that consensus among the OPEC member states as well as Iran’s constructive support and cooperation would help restore calm to the global oil market.
Russia announced on Thursday it was pushing ahead with the first deployment of such weapons outside its borders since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the arms were already on the move.
Biden said on Friday he had an “extremely negative” reaction to reports that Russia moved ahead with the deployment in Belarus.
“It is the sovereign right of Russia and Belarus to ensure their security by means we deem necessary amid a large-scale hybrid war unleashed by Washington against us,” Russia’s embassy in the United States announced in a statement.
“The measures we undertake are fully consistent with our international legal obligations,” it added.
Tactical nuclear weapons are used for tactical gains on the battlefield and are usually smaller in yield than the strategic nuclear weapons designed to destroy American, European or Russian cities.
The Russian embassy called the US criticism of Moscow’s deployment hypocritical, saying “before blaming others, Washington could use some introspection”.
“The United States has been for decades maintaining a large arsenal of its nuclear weapons in Europe. Together with its NATO allies it participates in nuclear sharing arrangements and trains for scenarios of nuclear weapons use against our country,” the embassy added.
The United States has said the world faces the gravest nuclear danger since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis because of remarks by President Vladimir Putin during the Ukraine conflict, but Moscow says its position has been misinterpreted.
Putin, who has cast the Ukraine war as a battle for the survival of Russia against an aggressive West, has repeatedly warned that Russia, which has more nuclear weapons than any other country, will use all means to defend itself.
The United States has deployed nuclear weapons in Western Europe since US President Dwight D Eisenhower authorised their deployment in the Cold War as a counter to the perceived threat from the Soviet Union. The first US nuclear weapons in Europe were deployed in Britain in 1954.
Much of the detail about the current American deployment is classified, though the Federation of American Scientists says the US has 100 B61 tactical nuclear weapons deployed in Europe – in Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belgium and the Netherlands.
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