Six In The Morning Friday 2 May 2025

 

Gaza humanitarian aid ship ‘bombed by drones’ in waters off Malta

Freedom Flotilla Coalition claims Israel to blame for attack on unarmed civilian vessel in international waters

Jason Burke in Jerusalem

Fri 2 May 2025 15.15 BST

A ship carrying humanitarian aid and activists to Gaza has been bombed by drones and disabled while in international waters off Malta as it headed towards the Palestinian territory, its organisers have said.

“At 00:23 Maltese time, the Conscience, a Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship came under direct attack in international waters,” the group said in a statement.

“Armed drones attacked the front of an unarmed civilian vessel twice, causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull,” it added, blaming Israel.

Germany: Intelligence agency labels AfD party as 'extremist'

The agency cited a "xenophobic, anti-minority, Islamophobic" rhetoric among the reasons for the designation. The label gives authorities more power to surveil the far-right party.

Germany's spy agency BfV has labeled the entirety of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as an extremist entity.

The BfV, which is in charge of safeguarding Germany's constitutional order, said Friday's announcement came after an "intense and comprehensive" examination.

The designation gives authorities greater powers to monitor the party, with measures such as intercepting phone calls and using undercover agents.

The far-right neo-Legionary movement and Romania's election re-run

Romanians head to the polls on Sunday for a re-run of last November's presidential election, which was annulled following reports of foreign interference. Last year's vote saw the surprise victory of a previously unknown far-right independent candidate, Calin Georgescu. An isolationist and ultra-nationalist, Georgescu has ties to neo-Legionary groups, which have roots in the pre-war Iron Guard fascist movement.

Trump vs Toyota? Why U.S. cars are a rare sight in Japan

With their sleek curves and chrome grilles, the classic American cars on sale at Yosuke Fukuda's yard ooze Californian cool but on Japanese roads new U.S. vehicles are a rare sight -- much to President Donald Trump's annoyance.

Toyota is the second-top-selling automaker in the United States, where it shifted more than 2.3 million vehicles last year.

Meanwhile, U.S. industry leader General Motors sold just 587 Chevrolets and 449 Cadillacs in Japan, while Ford pulled out of the tough Japanese market nearly a decade ago.

Sudanese paramilitary RSF kills 19 after taking city of al-Nahud: Sources

Control over city gives the RSF strategic advantage in its bid to take Darfur capital el-Fasher, located 400km to the west.

Fighting in the Sudanese city of al-Nahud, a strategic city in West Kordofan state acting as a gateway to the Darfur region, has killed 19 people and left 37 wounded, according to sources who spoke to Al Jazeera, in the latest eruption of violence in the brutal two-year civil war.

Local sources told Al Jazeera that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which declared on Telegram that it had “liberated” al-Nahud from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on Thursday, had rampaged through neighbourhoods, looting the market, houses and cars.

Chile issues tsunami warning after earthquake

Ian Aikman

BBC News

Chile has issued a tsunami warning and said people should evacuate coastal areas in the south of country after a large earthquake.

The warning was issued for the remote Magallanes region on the country's southern tip and parts of the Chilean Antarctic Territory.

It comes after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck 219km (136 miles) off the coast of the city of Ushuaia, in neighbouring Argentina, on Friday, according to the United States Geological Survey.