The wreckage of cars lie on the remains of the Shambat Bridge, which connects Omdurman and Bahri, on June 24, 2025 in the Sudanese capital region. (AFP)
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Gold Mine Collapse Kills 11 Workers in Sudan
The wreckage of cars lie on the remains of the Shambat Bridge, which connects Omdurman and Bahri, on June 24, 2025 in the Sudanese capital region. (AFP)
A gold mine partly collapsed in eastern Sudan, killing 11 miners, the state-run company in charge of the project said Sunday.
The collapse of the Kersh al-Feel mine happened over the weekend in the desert town of Houeid in the eastern Nile River province, the Sudanese Mineral Resources Limited Company said in a statement. Another seven workers were injured and transferred to a hospital, it said.
The company said it had stopped excavation and reiterated its warning to informal miners against working at the site.
Sudan is a major gold producer but mine collapses are common due to poor safety standards.
Similar incidents in recent years include a 2023 collapse that killed 14 miners and another in 2021 that claimed 38 lives.
Palestinians walk amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip (AFP)
An Egyptian source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday that mediators were continuing their efforts to implement the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and that contacts had not stopped in order to prevent any deliberate disruption of negotiations by Israel after its latest “unacceptable” escalation in the enclave.
Sources from Hamas had earlier told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday that Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the commander-in-chief of the Qassam Brigades, the movement’s armed wing, had been killed in an Israeli strike that targeted him in Gaza City on Friday evening.
They said the attack on a residential apartment in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City had targeted Haddad.
Experts who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat said this “escalation” by Israel places mediators before a difficult task and limited scenarios.
They said the “Gaza agreement” faces possible outcomes linked to a temporary halt in negotiations aimed at breaking the deadlock, or a complete obstruction of talks if Israel expands its escalation, intensifies assassinations and seizes more land in the enclave, potentially leading to a return to war, especially as the US position has not yet moved to deter Israel.
New operation
The assassination of Haddad came as Hamas was completing the election of its new political bureau chief.
The operation also followed rounds of talks hosted by Cairo over several weeks, with the participation of the High Representative of the Board of Peace in the enclave, Nickolay Mladenov, who had asked the movement days before the operation to hand over its weapons after visiting Tel Aviv and meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Dr. Tarek Fahmy, a professor of political science specializing in Palestinian and Israeli affairs, said the assassination confirms Israel’s lack of commitment to agreements.
He said Israel seeks to confuse Hamas’s internal scene as the movement prepares to carry out internal and external changes, and that the strike carries a message from Netanyahu to a politically troubled Israeli public, aimed at boosting his popularity and achieving electoral and political goals, before directly affecting the negotiations and their credibility.
Palestinian political analyst Dr. Ayman al-Raqab said Netanyahu had carried out the operation to save himself electorally amid domestic setbacks, and to try to impose heavy pressure on Hamas amid US distraction and silence over what is happening in the enclave.
Widening violations
The targeting is not the only step Israel is pursuing amid US silence.
The Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom reported on Wednesday that “the security zones in Gaza have been expanded by an additional 34 square kilometers, with the approval of the Board of Peace, after Hamas failed to implement commitments related to disarmament, and Israel now controls about 64 percent of the enclave’s area.”
Fahmy said the latest operation leaves mediators facing limited scenarios. The first is continued Israeli escalation and further assassinations that could include members of Hamas’s political bureau abroad, or an expansion of control inside the enclave, along with the continuation of military action and the occupation of the entire Gaza Strip.
He said the escalation would obstruct negotiations amid US silence, or lead to a temporary pause in talks without mediators halting their contacts, especially as the operation opens the way for the rise of more hardline leaders within Hamas.
Raqab expected Hamas to show reservations about returning to negotiations for now, though he said this would be temporary, especially as the movement has no alternatives or ability to engage in a military confrontation.
He said mediators face an extremely difficult task, but will continue trying to salvage what can be salvaged to return quickly to negotiations, with intensive contacts with Washington to intervene and curb Israel’s possible escalation.
Lebanon Seeks Real Ceasefire from Early Mondayhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5274058-lebanon-seeks-real-ceasefire-early-monday
A bulldozer clears debris from outside a damaged building after an overnight Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese city of Tyre (AFP)
Lebanon will test before dawn on Monday whether Israel will honor a ceasefire and halt attacks on civilians and civilian facilities, and whether Hezbollah will match that commitment, in a push to turn a fragile pause into real calm on the ground.
The expected de-escalation would pave the way for the security track to begin smoothly at the end of this month and for the political track to resume early next month.
But Hezbollah said direct negotiations with Israel would “strengthen Israeli gains at Lebanon’s expense,” warning the Lebanese authorities “not to go too far in deviant choices with the enemy” and blaming the talks for continued Israeli pressure and attacks.
A Lebanese official source told Asharq Al-Awsat that contacts Lebanon has made after the first round of direct negotiations with Israel in Washington have focused on securing those principles before moving to the next steps in the security and political tracks.
The source said Lebanon had stressed in talks with the US sponsor of the negotiations that the ceasefire must hold and that attacks on infrastructure and civilian facilities must stop. The source said the initial Israeli response showed readiness to comply if the other side, Hezbollah, did the same.
“We have informed the concerned parties inside Lebanon, the party, of these details,” the source said.
“The Lebanese presidency was informed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri that the party is ready to halt fire if Israel commits to doing so. Things are now being put to the test, especially since the Israeli side’s pledges cannot be trusted, as experience has shown so far,” the source added.
The source said Berri had informed the presidency that Hezbollah was ready to issue a public pledge before the extended ceasefire deadline expires at midnight Sunday into Monday.
Hezbollah warned against “attempts to reproduce something more dangerous than the May 17 Agreement” by pushing for a “full and comprehensive peace agreement” between Lebanon and Israel. It said any such path would be a “deviation” from national principles and a breach of the Lebanese constitution, Lebanon’s history and the sacrifices of its people.
The party issued its statement on the 43rd anniversary of the May 17, 1983 agreement, reaffirming its commitment to “resistance” and rejecting any peace agreement with Israel.
Hezbollah said the Lebanese authorities were “dealing with the enemy as if it were a peaceful, recognized entity,” despite the continued “Israeli occupation and attacks.” It warned that such a course could threaten domestic stability and rejected “any foreign dictates or pressure, whether American or otherwise,” which it said aimed to impose political choices on Lebanon.
It said direct negotiations with Israel serve to “strengthen Israeli gains at Lebanon’s expense,” urged the Lebanese authorities “not to go too far in deviant choices with the enemy,” and blamed the negotiation track for continued Israeli pressure and attacks.
As Israeli escalation continued in the south, Lebanon’s internal political debate over Hezbollah’s weapons and its role in the next phase intensified. The US-sponsored negotiation track in Washington has again placed the issue of restricting arms to the Lebanese state at the top of the political and security agenda.
MP Fouad Makhzoumi hardened his position on the weapons issue, saying “the era of weapons outside the state is over” and that any coming settlement must reinforce the authority of the Lebanese state and its sole right to decide on war and peace.
In a post on X, Makhzoumi said extending the ceasefire and launching the political and security tracks under US sponsorship offer a chance to rebuild the state and strengthen the Lebanese army as the only authority responsible for protecting the borders, the land and the people. He said all weapons outside Lebanese legitimacy must end.
MP Ali Khreis, a member of the Development and Liberation bloc, condemned the Israeli raids on Tyre during a tour of the city, saying “the resistance cannot kneel or bow to pressure.”
“What was said yesterday about extending the ceasefire is a false extension, as the Israeli enemy bombed residential buildings, neighborhoods and infrastructure and destroyed them completely. This shows the enemy’s premeditated intentions toward our people in Tyre and the south,” he said.
Other political positions, meanwhile, stressed the need to restore the Lebanese state’s authority and its sole power over decisions of war and peace.
MP Ghayath Yazbeck, a member of the Lebanese Forces bloc, urged the Lebanese state to “seize the opportunity on the table to save the country from the repercussions of Hezbollah’s policies.”
He said the proposed political and security tracks could lead to long-term understandings, provided Lebanon fulfills its pledges to place weapons exclusively under state control.
Yazbeck said Lebanon’s decisions should be driven by “the interests of the Lebanese people, not Iran’s calculations or Hezbollah’s choices.” He said Hezbollah is demanding a ceasefire while rejecting the steps that could make it hold.
Full Story of Al-Saadi’s Arrest; an Iraqi who Coordinated Attacks Across 3 Continentshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5274045-full-story-al-saadi%E2%80%99s-arrest-iraqi-who-coordinated-attacks-across-3-continents
Full Story of Al-Saadi’s Arrest; an Iraqi who Coordinated Attacks Across 3 Continents
A photo released by the US Justice Department shows Mohammed Baqer al-Saadi after his arrest (US Justice Department)
The arrest by the US authorities of Kataib Hezbollah figure Mohammed Baqer al-Saadi has drawn renewed attention to the faction’s role in cross-border operations. Many viewed it as the start of tougher US measures against individuals and figures linked to the Quds Force, the regional arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and what is known as the “Axis of Resistance.”
Because of the highly secretive environment in which Kataib Hezbollah has operated since it was founded by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis - the former deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, who was killed in a US strike in 2020 - soon after the 2003 overthrow of late president Saddam Hussein, ambiguity and scarce information surround most of the group’s senior figures.
That secrecy is reinforced by their reluctance to appear in public, despite the faction’s local influence as one of the groups closest and most closely linked to the Revolutionary Guards.
Link to the Quds Force
Information obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat from factional sources indicates that al-Saadi had close ties to the Quds Force intelligence body. It also suggests he had close ties to a member of that Iranian body who was killed during the 11-day war between the United States and Iran, although some sources said he “liked to claim such ties.”
A review of his photo archive on X, where al-Saadi has been active since 2014, shows that he often appeared alongside Revolutionary Guards commanders. In one video clip, he appeared to exchange words and smiles with the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
According to the factional sources, al-Saadi “stepped up his visits to Lebanon after the killing of Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in late September 2024, and was also active in moving between Lebanon and Syria during Bashar al-Assad’s rule.”
Sources said al-Saadi’s possession of a “service passport,” usually granted to senior military figures and official personnel, “gave him flexibility to move and travel to other countries.”
From this perspective, the sources explained his latest trip to Türkiye, where he was reportedly caught and arrested. It was also rumored that he was preparing to travel to a European country.
Al-Saadi appeared in more than one circulated photograph with former Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and other figures linked to armed factions and the Revolutionary Guards. Some sources said he preferred to add “Soleimani” to his name.
Mohammed Baqer al-Saadi with Qassem Soleimani (US Justice Department)
How was al-Saadi arrested?
According to most Western sources that reported al-Saadi’s arrest in Türkiye and transfer to the United States, he is accused of coordinating and planning at least 18 terrorist attacks in Europe targeting Americans and Jews, all in the name of ending the war in Iran.
After his arrest, al-Saadi appeared in a video message to his mother on a mobile phone screen, urging her to “be patient” and saying they “will not be broken.”
Western sources say he “directed and urged” others to attack US and Israeli interests in retaliation for the war Washington and Tel Aviv are waging against Tehran.
Al-Saadi is also accused of coordinating two additional attacks in Canada, directing others, and attempting to coordinate terrorist attacks inside the United States, including against a synagogue in New York City, according to prosecutors.
The US lists Kataib Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization and says al-Saadi has been involved with the group since 2017. Some sources say his father is linked to the Badr Organization, led by Hadi al-Amiri.
Last month, Washington offered a $10 million reward for information on Kataib Hezbollah leader Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi.
CNN had reported a link between Kataib Hezbollah and the group that claimed responsibility for a series of arson attacks targeting Jewish sites across Europe, including synagogues, schools and ambulances.
Al-Saadi faces several charges, including conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to provide material support for terrorist acts, and conspiracy to bomb a public place.
He appeared in court on Friday in the Southern District of New York, where a judge ordered him detained without bail. He did not enter a plea during the hearing.
The potential repercussions of al-Saadi’s arrest for Kataib Hezbollah remain unclear, as does the nature of the information US agencies may obtain from him and whether it could expose the armed group, which is now at the center of US scrutiny.
According to al-Saadi’s defense lawyer, Andrew Dalack, who spoke to Western media, he was arrested in Türkiye by Turkish authorities, most likely at Washington’s request, and handed over to US authorities without being given a chance to challenge the legality of his detention or his transfer to the United States.
Al-Saadi faces numerous allegations and accusations, including an attempt to arrange the bombing of a prominent synagogue in New York City, as well as targeting two other sites in the United States, Jewish centers in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona.
Other allegations indicate that al-Saadi agreed to pay $10,000 to carry out the attack, but insisted that it be filmed. Investigators say he insisted the attack be carried out on April 6, and when it did not happen, he sent a text message to the undercover agent the following morning asking why.
Al-Saadi’s record on X
Al-Saadi appears to have been active on X for years, where he often sharply criticized the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, which filed a “defamation” lawsuit against him in 2024.
In July 2020, al-Saadi posted on his account a picture of the US Capitol destroyed, alongside images of slain commanders such as Soleimani, with the phrase: “Our revenge for the martyred commanders continues. No negotiations with the occupier.”
He also uses the platform to openly declare support for Iran and the “Axis of Resistance,” and to attack their opponents.
In 2023, al-Saadi posted a screenshot from a maps application of Indian Creek Island in the US state of Florida, a small fortified residential island in Miami-Dade County known in the media as the billionaires’ bunker, where a number of businesspeople, celebrities and politicians live.
Prominent residents include Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump.
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