our people, including two Hezbollah members, were killed, and five others were injured in Israeli airstrikes on villages in southern Lebanon, Lebanese military sources told the media.

The sources, who spoke anonymously, said on Saturday that an Israeli warplane targeted a house in the village of Houla, killing two Hezbollah members and injuring three civilians, Xinhua news agency reported.

The sources added that another Israeli airstrike targeted, with two air-to-surface missiles, a commercial market in the village of Aitaroun, killing two civilians and wounding two others.

The two slain civilians were identified as Ali Khalil Hamad, a coffee shop owner, and a young man named Mustafa Issa.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it responded to Israel’s raids on Saturday with several attacks in the occupied Shebaa Farms and some Israeli sites, including Malikiyah, Al-Samaqa, Zarit, and al-Raheb.

Tensions increased between Hezbollah and the Israeli army in the wake of the latter’s announcement of completing deployment for a major offensive against the former.

The announcement came after a drone attack by Hezbollah on Wednesday on an Israeli gathering south of the Al-Kosh settlement in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, which caused numerous casualties.

The confrontations between the two sides have escalated along the Lebanon-Israel border since October 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.  AGENCIES

At least five people, including two policemen, were injured in a terrorist attack on a polio vaccination team in Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police officials said. According to the police officials, the incident happened on Saturday in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan district of the province when unknown attackers opened fire indiscriminately on the polio team, injuring two policemen and other staff of the polio team.

The perpetrators fled the scene after carrying out the attack, police said, adding that law enforcers have launched an operation in the surrounding areas to arrest the culprits, Xinhua news agency reported.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

The incident comes as a five-day anti-polio campaign was launched earlier this week in the province during which more than 3.56 million children under the age of five will be vaccinated.

AGENCIES

Seven security personnel were injured in a blast in Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the police said.The incident occurred when roadside-planted explosives hit a vehicle of paramilitary troops Frontier Corps in Khyber district of the province, police sources in the area told the media on Saturday.

The forces’ vehicle was on a routine patrol in the area when the explosion happened, said the police sources, adding that at least two security personnel sustained critical injuries in the explosion, Xinhua news agency reported.

Following the incident, rescue teams, police and security forces rushed to the site and shifted the injured to a nearby hospital.

Police and security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to arrest the culprits.

No group or individual has claimed the blast yet.  AGENCIES

 President Joe Biden pledged continuing US support to Ukraine on meeting French President Emmanuel in Paris on Saturday at the start of a state visit.

Biden said that the US was firmly on the side of Ukraine and other allies. Macron also said France would continue its support for Ukraine for as long as it was necessary.

Before the two leaders met, the US administration had, however, made clear that the US would not participate in Macron’s plan to send military trainers to Ukraine.

Speaking on Friday evening, Macron said he had held discussions with NATO leaders on sending military trainers to Ukraine and that several had agreed with his plans, which would be finalised “in the days ahead.”

Biden has said that no US personnel will be sent to the war zone, and the White House made clear on Friday evening that nothing had changed in this regard.

The issue was not mentioned when Biden and Macron met on Saturday. Brief statements were issued, and no questions were allowed.

An official White House statement said: “Reflecting on their historical relationship and recalling the price for peace and freedom paid by past generations in both countries, the presidents reaffirm their commitment to a Europe, whole, free, and at peace.”

Macron expressed confidence in that agreement on the use of interest earned on frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv. France and the US are aiming for all G7 members to approve a loan of $50 billion.

While the US has backed the idea, European members of the G7 have shown caution amid hopes that a decision could be taken at a pending G7 meeting in Italy.

Biden and Macron welcomed the announcement from Israel that four more hostages had been freed in the Gaza Strip. Biden said that the US would not cease working until all the hostages were released and a ceasefire arranged.

Macron said that the number of dead and injured after nine months of war was unacceptable. He added that the fact that Israel was not opening all border crossings to humanitarian aid could not be tolerated.

Earlier, Macron welcomed Biden with full military honours at a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. A military choir and a band provided by the National Gendarmerie played as aircraft flew overhead.

The two leaders laid a wreath and held a minute of silence at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which lies under the national monument in the centre of the French capital.

In the evening, Biden and Macron emphasised the solidarity and friendship between their two countries at a state banquet held at the Élysée Palace.

“We are allies. We will remain allies,” Macron said in his speech.

Biden’s state visit offered “an opportunity to celebrate the untrammelled vitality of our alliance and this very special relationship between our two nations and, indeed, our love for freedom,” Macron added.

Biden highlighted how France and the US have been there for each other throughout history when it comes to securing each other’s freedom.

“You were with us to help us secure our freedom, and we were with you 170 years later… to do the same. And ever since, we’ve remained united, unyielding, as well as unwavering in our partnership,” Biden said, referencing the US gaining independence in 1776 and the end of World War Two.

“We stand at an inflection point in history,” Biden continued. “The decisions we make now will determine the course of our future for decades to come.

“We have a lot of opportunity but a lot of responsibility. And it gives me hope to know France and the United States stand together now and always.”

Macron said that being “united in spite of our differences when the main values are at stake” is the common thread of the unshakeable transatlantic bond between Washington and Paris.

Macron was Biden’s first guest on a state visit in 2022.

The US president has been in France since Wednesday, attending ceremonies in Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.AGENCIES

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was taken to the hospital with a minor whiplash injury after a man hit her in central Copenhagen, her office said.

Ms Frederiksen is “safe but shaken” by the incident, the office said, adding that her scheduled engagements on Saturday were cancelled.

Eyewitnesses told Danish media that the 46-year-old prime minister was assaulted on Kultorvet square in the capital’s historic centre on Friday but had been able to walk away from the scene.

Police quickly arrested a 39-year-old man in connection with the incident.

According to local media, the suspect later appeared in a pre-trial custody hearing in a Copenhagen district court.The man denied that he had anything against Ms Frederiksen, saying she was “a really good prime minister” and that he had been surprised to run into her on the street.Police investigating the assault do not believe that the attack was politically motivated.

Local media reported that the man was drunk and under the influence of other drugs at the time and that he was a Polish citizen who had been resident in Denmark for a long time.

Condemnation poured in from across Europe.“Shocked to hear about the violence against my friend Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of our ally Denmark.

 “I strongly condemn all violence against our political leaders,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrote on the social media platform X.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it a “despicable act which goes against everything we believe and fight for in Europe.”

“French President Emmanuel Macron denounced it as “unacceptable” and wished the leader a quick recovery.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz posted a get-well message on X.“Dear Mette, I wish you a speedy recovery,” he said.British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak posted on X: “Democracies must be free from intimidation and threats.”“I strongly condemn any form of violence against democratically elected leaders in our free societies,” Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said.“An attack on a democratically elected leader is also an attack on our democracy,” wrote Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on . The incident comes as the EU’s 27 countries elect more than 700 members of the European Parliament during four days of voting that began on Thursday.Voters in Denmark would go to the polls on Sunday.There have been at least two attacks on politicians in Germany in the immediate run-up to the elections.Earlier, on 15 May, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and seriously injured. AGENCIES

 The Egyptian Air Force, along with its counterparts from other friendly states, continued to carry out airdrops of humanitarian aid over the north of the Gaza Strip, said the Egyptian military.

The international operation to airdrop aid to Gaza continued from June 3 to June 8, aiming to ease the suffering of the people in the Palestinian enclave “in light of the obstacles and difficulties preventing sufficient entry of aid into the sector,” according to a statement released on Saturday by the Egyptian army.

Egypt joined in March a coalition of several Arab and Western states to airdrop relief supplies to northern Gaza, Xinhua news agency reported.

Aid delivery to Gaza has faced great challenges since the closure of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, a vital entry point for aid trucks into the strip, after the Israeli army seized control of the Palestinian side of the crossing in early May.

Egypt has been demanding Israeli withdrawal to resume the crossing’s operations.

The country has been making intensive efforts, in cooperation with international and regional powers, “to take serious steps to ensure a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the opening of all land crossings to fully deliver humanitarian aid to the enclave,” the army noted in the statement.

Israel has launched a massive offensive against Gaza-ruling Hamas in retaliation for a Hamas surprise attack on southern Israeli towns on October 7 last year, during which about 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 200 were taken as hostages.

The eight-month-long Israeli offensive has left 36,801 Palestinians killed and 83,680 others injured, the Gaza health authorities said in an update on Saturday.

The Israeli attacks also reduced large swaths of the enclave to ruins and caused a devastating humanitarian crisis in the area. AGENCIES 

Sri Lanka’s Irrigation department has withdrawn all flood warnings issued from June 1 near five major rivers of the country, according to a statement from it. The rivers are Kelani River, Kalu River, Attanagalu Oya, Gin River and Nilwala River, according to the department.

The department said on Saturday that it is constantly monitoring the changes in the rainfall conditions across the country and those of the water levels of major rivers, Xinhua news agency reported.

All the arrangements have been made to issue prior warnings and information of flood situation as necessary, the department added.

The Meteorological Department said in its latest forecast that the prevailing rainy condition in the southwestern part of the island is expected to enhance to some extent in the next few days from Saturday.

According to the disaster management centre, 282,797 people remain affected by adverse weather conditions due to rain-related disasters.  AGENCIES

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and called for a political solution while meeting with his US counterpart Joe Biden, who is on a state visit to France. “After nine months of conflict, the situation in Rafah, and the human toll, are unacceptable,” Macron said on Saturday at a joint press conference.

“It is intolerable that Israel is not opening all the crossing points to humanitarian aid, as the international community has been demanding for several months,” he added as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

Biden said they would continue to work for the return of all hostages to their homes and a ceasefire in Gaza.

Biden’s state visit comes two days after he participates in the ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings in France.  AGENCIES

 The Prime Minister of Haiti’s transitional government, Garry Conille, has reportedly been hospitalised in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Conille is suffering from chronic asthma and has had breathing difficulties, media outlets in the Caribbean state reported on Saturday evening, citing people close to him. Preparations were being made to transfer the Prime Minister to a hospital abroad.

In late May, Haiti’s transitional presidential council elected Conille, who had served as Prime Minister from September 2011 to May 2012, as interim Prime Minister to lead the Caribbean state out of the serious political crisis.

Amid a serious crisis involving political conflicts, security, and supply problems, Conille has been tasked with paving the way for the first elections since 2016.

Violence by armed gangs, which, according to UN figures, already controlled around 80 per cent of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, escalated once again at the end of February.

Former interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who did not return from a trip abroad at the end of February due to the security situation in Haiti, resigned in April when the council was in place. Henry had taken over the reins of government shortly after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021.  AGENCIES

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has strongly condemned deadly Israeli airstrikes on the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

In a statement released on Saturday by the Ministry, Kanaani denounced Israel’s killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians during the attacks as a “horrendous and shocking crime”.

The “crime” perpetrated by Israel was a consequence of the “inaction” of governments and relevant international organisations in the face of eight months of “war crimes and violations of all international laws and regulations as well as international humanitarian law” by Israel in Gaza, said the Spokesman.He blamed the US and certain European countries for providing arms to Israel and backing it in its offensive, Xinhua news agency reported.

At least 210 Palestinians were killed and more than 400 others injured in the Israeli airstrikes on Saturday in central Gaza.

Khalil Al-Dakran, director of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah city in central Gaza, told Xinhua that a large number of wounded Palestinians were sent to the hospital due to intense Israeli bombing on the Nuseirat camp and the city, some of whom have been confirmed dead.

The Israeli army has been waging a large-scale offensive on Gaza since October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on the Israeli towns adjacent to the strip, killing nearly 1,200 people.

The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks in the enclave has risen to 36,801, with 83,680 people injured, as updated by the health authorities in Gaza on Saturday. AGENCIES