Israel Simulates Long-Range Air Strikes over Mediterranean

An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet. (Jack Guez/AFP)
An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet. (Jack Guez/AFP)
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Israel Simulates Long-Range Air Strikes over Mediterranean

An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet. (Jack Guez/AFP)
An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet. (Jack Guez/AFP)

The Israeli military said Wednesday that dozens of its aircraft conducted a drill simulating airstrikes on long-range targets, a thinly veiled reference to a possible attack on regional rival Iran.

The army said the exercise took place a day earlier over the Mediterranean and “involved long-range flight, aerial refueling and striking distant targets.” It provided no additional information.

The announcement came as negotiators representing world powers and Iran have held months of talks in a bid to hash out a new agreement to rein in Tehran's nuclear program, four years after a deal struck in 2015 collapsed after the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew, The Associated Press said.

Israel considers Iran its greatest threat and was staunchly opposed to the 2015 JCPOA accords signed by Iran and world powers, saying it didn't have enough safeguards to keep Iran from developing a weapons capability or address other Iranian military threats in the region. It has said it opposes a return to a new nuclear agreement.

Iran has long insisted that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.

Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, but has never publicly acknowledged having such weapons.

Tuesday's air force drill took place as part of a larger, month-long military exercise, which included combat simulations in Cyprus earlier this week.



UN COP16 Nature Summit Creates Permanent Body for Indigenous Peoples

FILE PHOTO: A Brazilian indigenous woman wears a feather headdress, during a press conference at the 16th United Nations Biodiversity Summit (COP16), in Yumbo, Colombia October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Brazilian indigenous woman wears a feather headdress, during a press conference at the 16th United Nations Biodiversity Summit (COP16), in Yumbo, Colombia October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo
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UN COP16 Nature Summit Creates Permanent Body for Indigenous Peoples

FILE PHOTO: A Brazilian indigenous woman wears a feather headdress, during a press conference at the 16th United Nations Biodiversity Summit (COP16), in Yumbo, Colombia October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Brazilian indigenous woman wears a feather headdress, during a press conference at the 16th United Nations Biodiversity Summit (COP16), in Yumbo, Colombia October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo

Countries at the UN COP16 summit on nature on Friday approved a measure to create a permanent body for Indigenous peoples to consult on United Nations decisions about nature conservation.
The consultative body is considered a breakthrough in recognizing the role that Indigenous peoples play in conserving nature globally, including some of the most biodiverse areas of the planet, according to Indigenous and environmental advocates, reported Reuters.
Nearly 200 countries convened in the Columbian city of Cali aiming to implement the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework agreement, which aims to halt the rapid decline of nature by 2030.
The consultative body, which will also extend to local communities, will help to incorporate traditional knowledge and practices into conservation efforts.
Countries also adopted a measure that recognizes the role of people of African descent in caring for nature, which COP16 host Colombia said would grant such communities easier access to resources to fund their biodiversity projects and participate in global environmental discussions.
The measure's adoption was met with chants and singing by campaigners, as well as words of thanks from Colombia Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo, who said the breakthrough was particularly important for Latin America and the Caribbean.
"Our territories, which cover much of the natural wealth of the planet, have also been home to people of African descent and Indigenous peoples whose sustainable practices are needed to face the environmental challenges that we all share today," Murillo said.
Earlier in the week, Armenia was announced as the host of COP17, which will be held in 2026.