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Azerbaijan Opens Tourism Office in Israel

Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi. (AP)
Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi. (AP)
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Azerbaijan Opens Tourism Office in Israel

Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi. (AP)
Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi. (AP)

Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi said Azerbaijan’s decision to open a tourism promotion and a trade office in Israel is a boost to strategic alliance ties between the two countries.

It is also a step towards adding Azerbaijan to the Abraham Accords that already includes the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, he stated.

“Azerbaijan is an ally, friend, and largest supplier of Israel’s energy resources. We will continue to work on the development of strategic ties with Azerbaijan and expand them in new areas,” Ashkenazi noted.

The Israel-Azerbaijan Joint Committee met virtually on Wednesday for talks on the promotion of bilateral relations and trade between the two countries. The committee had held its first meeting in 2018.

Earlier, Ashkenazi and Azerbaijan's Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov discussed “regional developments in the Middle East, and possible collaborations between the countries.”

The parties also exchanged views over the possibility of Azerbaijan’s recognition of the Israeli certificate of vaccination against coronavirus and the resumption of travel for Israeli tourists to Azerbaijan.

It was decided to advance a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the health field, to establish an inter-ministerial working group in the field of agriculture, and an MoU for cooperation in the field of water and desalination.

In recent years, Azerbaijan has become an important tourist destination for Israelis with approximately 50,000 visiting per year, and the countries are currently in the advanced stages of preparation towards signing tourism and aviation agreements.

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World

Hundreds Evacuated as Waves Batter New Zealand Capital

Stormy seas pound the coastline of Island Bay, a suburb of the New Zealand capital Wellington. Ben STRANG / AFP
Stormy seas pound the coastline of Island Bay, a suburb of the New Zealand capital Wellington. Ben STRANG / AFP
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Hundreds Evacuated as Waves Batter New Zealand Capital

Stormy seas pound the coastline of Island Bay, a suburb of the New Zealand capital Wellington. Ben STRANG / AFP
Stormy seas pound the coastline of Island Bay, a suburb of the New Zealand capital Wellington. Ben STRANG / AFP

Authorities evacuated hundreds of people from their seaside homes in New Zealand's capital on Tuesday as 11-meter (36-foot) waves lashed the coast.

Wellington Mayor Andrew Little declared a state of emergency on the eve of the swells for seaside residents in Owhiro Bay, Island Bay, Houghton Bay and Breaker Bay.

"You must stay away from the southern coastline," Little said in a statement, warning that emergency workers would not be coming to help anyone who stayed behind.

The evacuation order took effect on Tuesday morning, with police brought in to ensure people moved to higher ground, said AFP.

Officers set up cordons on surrounding roads to prevent people from heading to the coast.

The council said a similar event in 2021 affected many homes in Breaker Bay, and waves during that storm were about 6.5 meters.

Waves entering Wellington Harbour on Tuesday were measured at 11 meters, New Zealand's MetService said.

Wind gusts were so strong at Island Bay that two women were knocked off their feet as waves washed up over the road, an AFP journalist saw.

Some flights were cancelled at Wellington Airport where wind gusts were recorded of up to 128 kilometers per hour (80 miles per hour).

A small plane from local carrier Golden Bay Air tipped onto its side in the wind while parked at the airport with no-one aboard.

Airline boss Richard Molloy told national broadcaster RNZ that fire fighters had secured the plane to the ground.

World

Russian Strikes Kill 3 Near Ukraine’s Kharkiv

This handout taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on June 9, 2026 shows smoke rising from a fire following Russian strikes in the Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / State Emergency Service of Ukraine / AFP)
This handout taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on June 9, 2026 shows smoke rising from a fire following Russian strikes in the Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / State Emergency Service of Ukraine / AFP)
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Russian Strikes Kill 3 Near Ukraine’s Kharkiv

This handout taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on June 9, 2026 shows smoke rising from a fire following Russian strikes in the Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / State Emergency Service of Ukraine / AFP)
This handout taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on June 9, 2026 shows smoke rising from a fire following Russian strikes in the Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / State Emergency Service of Ukraine / AFP)

Russian strikes killed three people and wounded 10 others in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, its governor said early Tuesday.

"The enemy has hit the city of Chuguiv," Kharkiv regional governor Oleg Synegubov wrote on Telegram, adding that three people had been killed.

"The strikes caused fires and damaged at least 18 vehicles; windows were blown out and building facades damaged in residential multi-storey buildings," Synegubov said.

Separately, Kharkiv mayor Igor Terekhov reported 10 people were wounded in his city.

Daily Russian attacks that claim civilian lives have intensified in recent months, and Ukraine has hit back with its own drone strikes further into Russian territory, saying these are mainly against military and energy facilities.

According to a UN estimate published in April, at least 15,850 civilians have been killed in Ukrainian zones since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.

More than 2,800 civilians have died in Russian-controlled zones, according to the UN toll, which added that more than 44,800 have been wounded in Ukrainian and Russian-occupied zones.

World

Congo’s Ebola Outbreak Rises to 100 Deaths out of 550 Cases as Conflict Slows Response

A health worker wearing a face mask as part of his personal protection equipment (PPE) looks on at the Mulago National Referral Hospital isolation unit in Kampala, Uganda, on July 8, 2026. (AFP)
A health worker wearing a face mask as part of his personal protection equipment (PPE) looks on at the Mulago National Referral Hospital isolation unit in Kampala, Uganda, on July 8, 2026. (AFP)
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Congo’s Ebola Outbreak Rises to 100 Deaths out of 550 Cases as Conflict Slows Response

A health worker wearing a face mask as part of his personal protection equipment (PPE) looks on at the Mulago National Referral Hospital isolation unit in Kampala, Uganda, on July 8, 2026. (AFP)
A health worker wearing a face mask as part of his personal protection equipment (PPE) looks on at the Mulago National Referral Hospital isolation unit in Kampala, Uganda, on July 8, 2026. (AFP)

At least 100 people have died from Ebola less than a month after authorities declared an outbreak of the disease in eastern Congo, authorities said.

Attacks on health workers from angry residents, skepticism among some locals and armed conflict in hot spots continue to challenge efforts to stop the outbreak declared on May 15.

Out of the 550 cases of the disease confirmed as of Sunday, there have been 101 deaths and 19 recoveries, according to the latest situation report late Monday.

The outbreak is concentrated in Congo’s eastern province of Ituri, which accounts for more than 90% of the cases. Cases have also been recorded in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, and has spread across the border to Uganda.

The number of cases in Congo is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed weeks late, and the response has been challenging also because the virus has no approved vaccine or treatment.

The latest Ebola disease outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which does not have an approved vaccine or treatment unlike the “Zaire virus,” another name for the Ebola virus, responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease.

The rapid increase in the number of cases is in part due to the scale up of diagnostic capacities, enabling testing of the backlog of previously collected samples, authorities said.

Frontline health workers, with little pay or rest, have been attacked multiple times by angry residents and have not been able to reach some communities due conflict involving armed rebel groups.

Eastern Congo has for years seen attacks by dozens of separate rebel and militant groups, some of them with links to foreign countries or to the extremist Islamic State group.

Conflict is “constraining access for the response, disrupting surveillance and response activities, and increasing the risk of undetected transmission,” the World Health Organization said Monday.

“Such incidents underline the challenges of the context and the importance of working closely with local leaders and communities,” it added.