​ Iranian missiles injure 160 in towns near Israeli nuclear site. Just now. Sebastian Usher,Jerusalem,. Tom Bennettand. Jaroslav Lukiv. Reuters. More than 160 people have been injured – some seriously – in Iranian missile strikes on two southern Israeli towns close to a nuclear facility, Israeli emergency officials say.. They say 84 people are being treated in Arad and another 78 in Dimona, after ballistic missiles hit the towns on Saturday evening.. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it is not aware of any damage to the nuclear research facility located about 13km (eight miles) outside Dimona.. Iranian state TV earlier said the strikes were in response to an attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility on Saturday. The IAEA says “no increase in off-site radiation levels” has been reported there.. Reuters. Iranian ballistic missiles got through Israel’s sophisticated air defences late on Saturday, hitting buildings in the two southern Israeli towns.. In Arad, local residents said the blasts they heard were terrifying. The missile badly damaged several buildings, leaving a deep crater.. “This is a very severe scene,” emergency medical technician Yakir Talkar said in a statement describing Arad, adding there were “many wounded with varying degrees of injury”.. The nearby town of Dimona experienced a similar missile strike.. Among the many injured there is a 10-year-old boy. Medics describe his condition as serious.. Israeli authorities are now investigating how the Iranian missiles made it through air defence systems.. “In both Dimona and Arad, interceptors were launched that failed to hit the threats, resulting in two direct hits by ballistic missiles with warheads weighing hundreds of kilograms,” Israeli firefighters said.. The Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center – located in the Negev desert – is often referred to colloquially as the “Dimona reactor”. It is long accepted as holding Israel’s undeclared arsenal of nuclear weapons.. Officially, the site is said to focus solely on research but for about six decades, it has been an open secret that Israel developed a nuclear bomb there, even if each succeeding government has maintained a position of ambiguity over this.. It has meant that Israel is the only nuclear power in the Middle East. So any indication that it is being targeted is taken with the utmost gravity by Israel.. Maxar. Both Israel and the US have set the elimination of any possible Iranian capacity to develop a nuclear bomb as the key aim of the war.. Iran’s own Atomic Energy Organisation described the attack on Natanz as a violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, though it said “no leakage of radioactive materials” was reported and there was “no danger to residents of the surrounding areas”.. Natanz was also targeted in the first days of the war, which started on 28 February, by US-Israeli strikes, as well as during the 12-day war in June.. Asked about Natanz on Saturday, the Israel Defens  

​ Socialists battle to hold Paris as France holds mayoral elections. 35 minutes ago. Hugh SchofieldParis correspondent, Paris. Reuters. Polls have opened in France for mayoral elections across its cities and major towns, in the last vote before next year’s presidential election.. Excitement is especially high in the capital Paris and the city of Nice on the Riviera.. The capital could shift to the right after 25 years under a Socialist-led coalition, if Rachida Dati comes from behind in the opinion polls to defeat Emmanuel Grégoire.. And in Nice, a hard-right ally of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN), Eric Ciotti, seems on course for victory.. But in this second round of municipal elections, the biggest focus across the country is on the hard-left party France Unbowed (LFI).. Getty Images. In many of these places, it has now formed alliances with other left-wing lists – mainly from the Socialist Party (PS) or Greens – in order to concentrate the anti-right vote.. But the key test in these elections – of big importance ahead of 2027 – is whether voters favour or shun these alliances, given the growing criticisms aimed at LFI and its leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon for alleged antisemitism and pursuing a “sectional”, i.e. Muslim, vote.. Emblematic of this is Toulouse in the south-west, home of France’s aeronautics industry as well as a big student population and a classic French banlieue of high-rise estates.. The city’s centre-right mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc came first in round one, with 37% of the vote. But he was followed by two left-wingers, François Piquemal (27.5%) of LFI, and the Socialist François Briançon (25%).. These two have now merged their lists, giving them a clear lead over Moudenc on paper. If they win it will be the hard-left Piquemal who becomes Toulouse mayor.. The test is to see whether the left/hard-left alliance acts as a clarion call to Toulouse voters or a turn-off.. Getty Images. Similar left-wing pacts have been made in 26 big towns and cities, including Nantes, Grenoble, Lyons, Limoges, Clermont-Ferrand, Brest and Tours – earning the fury of right-wing politicians who call them “alliances of shame”.. The fact of the matter is that these alliances have been forged just weeks after the Socialists led the rest of the mainstream left in a chorus of condemnation of LFI, vowing to forego any future nationwide all-left coalition unless it changed its ways.. This followed the murder of a far-right student in Lyon by suspected far-left militants, including the parliamentary assistant of an LFI MP; and then a speech by Mélenchon in which he performed a nod-and-a-wink to his audience about the Jewish identity of late sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.. For opponents of the left, the Socialists have ditched their principles at the first test – tying themselves once again to LFI out of fear of losing votes on their outside flank.. In their defence, the left says the alliances are needed to ward off victory by the far right – ev  

​ National blackout hits Cuba for second time in a week. 4 hours ago. Will Grant,BBC’s Mexico, Central America and Cuba correspondentand. Harry Sekulich. Reuters. More than 10 million people have had power cut to their homes and businesses across Cuba after the country’s national electrical grid collapsed for the second time in a week.. Cuba’s energy ministry said “a total disconnection of the National Electrical System has occurred”, in a statement posted on social media. “Protocols for restoration are already beginning to be implemented.”. Cuba’s grid operator UNE said it was gradually recovering electricity, prioritising “vital” centres including hospitals and water systems.. The Caribbean country has suffered three major blackouts this month as a US fuel blockade cuts off foreign oil imports, required to keep power stations running.. The Communist-run country has an ageing electricity infrastructure and chronic fuel shortages.. A coalition of international socialist groups arrived in Havana over the weekend to show their support for the Cuban government, bringing with them aid donations of solar panels, basic food kits and medicines.. The “Nuestra America” convoy, a flotilla of aid leaving Mexico, was delayed because of rough sea conditions but is expected to arrive in Havana’s port on Monday.. Rare public dissent sparked by the recent crisis and national power cuts saw locals banging pots and pans in central Havana on Monday. Protesters in central Cuba’s town of Morón also attacked and set fire to the Communist Party headquarters on the same day.. Unauthorised demonstrations are illegal in Cuba and those who defy the ban risk being jailed.. Since US soldiers seized former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on 3 January, Donald Trump has been repeatedly asked about similar mooted plans for Cuba.. President Trump is reported to want the removal of Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel, a regional ally of Venezuela, as a condition of lifting the fuel embargo.. Last week, Trump suggested there could be a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, later remarking it would be an “honour”.. Speaking to campaigners delivering humanitarian supplies this weekend, the Cuban president said the island has a “preparation plan to raise our people’s readiness for defence” against any US military aggression.. The American and Cuban governments have held initial phases of bilateral talks aimed at ending the crisis, Díaz-Canel has confirmed, although it is unclear how they are progressing.. On Friday Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio insisted that “the political system of Cuba is not up for negotiation, and of course neither the president nor the position of any official in Cuba is subject to negotiation with the United States”, Reuters reported.. Millions without electricity as Cuba’s power grid collapses. Cuba confirms negotiations with US as country faces effects of oil blockade. Cuba. Donald Trump  

​ Robert Mueller, ex-FBI chief who led Trump-Russia investigation, dies at 81. 6 hours ago. Kayla Epsteinand. Anthony Zurcher,North America correspondent. Getty Images. Robert Mueller, the former special counsel whose investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election defined much of Donald Trump’s first term in office, has died aged 81.. The cause of his death was not immediately clear. CBS News, the BBC US partner, confirmed his death.. “With deep sadness, we are sharing the news that Bob passed away” on Friday night, his family told the AP in a statement. “His family asks that their privacy be respected.”. Mueller previously led the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013, taking the office just days before the 11 September 2001 terror attacks. He is credited with reshaping it into a modern counterterrorism agency.. Mueller is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, Ann Cabell Standish, their two daughters, and three grandchildren.. Mueller’s special counsel inquiry put Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign under a microscope, drawing harsh criticism from the US president.. The president wrote on Truth Social on Saturday: “I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!”. Mueller’s former employers and colleagues praised him as a longtime public servant. Both of the presidents he served under as FBI director – George W Bush and Barack Obama – paid tribute.. Bush, who appointed Mueller to lead the FBI, said he was “deeply saddened” by his death.. “In 2001, only one week into the job as the sixth director of the FBI, Bob transitioned the agency mission to protecting the homeland after September 11,” he said. “He led the agency effectively, helping prevent another terrorist attack on US soil.”. Obama called him “one of the finest directors in the history of the FBI” and commended his “relentless commitment to the rule of law and his unwavering belief in our bedrock values”.. Former FBI director James Comey, who succeeded Mueller at the agency and whose abrupt firing by Trump led to the Mueller investigation said: “A great American died today, one I was lucky enough to learn from and stand beside.”. A spokesman for Mueller’s former law firm, WilmerHale, called him an “extraordinary leader and public servant and a person of the greatest integrity” in a statement.. Mueller was born in 1944. After studying politics at Princeton University, he joined the Marines and deployed to Vietnam in 1968.. America’s most mysterious public figure. As a lieutenant, Mueller led a platoon of troops, was wounded twice in battle and was awarded numerous commendations, including the Bronze Star for valour and a Purple Heart.. After returning from the war, he went to the University of Virginia, where he studied law and graduated in 1973.. In August 2001, Mueller was unanimously confirmed as FBI director by the US Senate and he served at the agency for more than a decade.. He retired from the FBI in 2013.. But four years later, Muell  

​ Thousands evacuated as Hawaii faces worst flooding in 20 years. 10 hours ago. Anna Lamche and Kayla Epstein. Hawaii remains under a statewide flood watch after a severe storm hit the state and prompted officials to order evacuations.. The potential for flash floods threaten the island of Oahu and parts of Maui County, Governor Josh Green said on Saturday.. The storm that struck this weekend is the second severe weather event to hit the archipelago in the last week.. Some parts of the state received 40 to 50in (127cm) of rain in the last 10 days, according to Green. Oahu could receive four to six more, while parts of Maui could experience between four to 12in, he said.. “Don’t take this storm lightly,” Green said in a video statement. No deaths had been reported, he said, but there have been few serious injuries.. The state has activated a programme for people displaced by the storm that allows them to get discounted hotel rates.. In a subsequent post, the governor warned that, because the ground had already been saturated by the earlier rainfall, “it will take much less rain to trigger flooding, road closures and damage”.. The damage from the storms could exceed $1bn (£745m), according to Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi.. More than 230 people have been rescued so far, Blangiardi told a news conference on Friday.. The authorities warned that a dam in Oahu, the state’s most populous island, was at risk of collapse. Blangiardi urged residents to “stay safe” and “take the storm as seriously as you can”.. Speaking at Friday’s news conference, he praised the emergency workers working to keep people safe.. Rising floodwaters lifted homes and cars and triggered evacuation orders for some 5,500 people north of the state’s capital city, Honolulu. Roads have been closed across the islands.. Honolulu Department of Emergency Management has issued multiple flash flood warnings and urged residents to move to higher ground and avoid flooded areas.. Flood watch warnings have also been issued for Maui, Molokai and The Big Island.. Green has said the storm would have a “serious consequence for us as a state” because it had caused enormous damage to airports, schools, roads and hospitals, as well as people’s homes.. “This is the largest flood that we’ve had in Hawaii in 20 years,” he told the news conference on Friday.. Honolulu Fire Department. The governor urged residents to seek out shelters and assembly areas across the state.. The island was in the grip of a “Kona Low”, a slow-moving area of low pressure that pulls in warm, moisture-rich air across the Hawaiian islands, bringing heavy rain and flash flooding.. Honolulu Fire Department. Some areas received more than 10in of rainfall and winds of up to 100mph (160km/h).. The storm is the latest challenge for the island, which frequently deals with the fallout of natural disasters such as the 2023 Lahaina wildfires, which left more than 100 people dead.. Additional reporting by BBC Weather. Floods. Hawaii. United