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Activists Protest Escalating Middle East Crisis outside UK Base in Cyprus

A view of the security gate of RAF Akrotiri, a British military base in Cyprus, September 25, 2024.(Reuters)
A view of the security gate of RAF Akrotiri, a British military base in Cyprus, September 25, 2024.(Reuters)
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Activists Protest Escalating Middle East Crisis outside UK Base in Cyprus

A view of the security gate of RAF Akrotiri, a British military base in Cyprus, September 25, 2024.(Reuters)
A view of the security gate of RAF Akrotiri, a British military base in Cyprus, September 25, 2024.(Reuters)

Pro-Palestinian campaigners protested at the gates of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus on Sunday, accusing Britain of offering tacit support to Israel's ongoing operations in Gaza and elsewhere.

Chanting "Out with the bases of death" a couple of hundred people holding Palestinian and Cypriot flags peacefully protested outside the locked gates of the facility, Britain's largest in the Middle East.

Britain last week sent additional troops to Cyprus to be in position to assist any potential evacuation of nationals trapped in Lebanon, which is reeling from a barrage of Israeli air strikes which culminated in the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday evening.

The UK has two military bases on Cyprus, a former British colony. RAF Akrotiri has been used in the past as a staging point for airstrikes against Houthi militias in Yemen in retaliation for attacks on Red Sea shipping that the Iran-backed group says is a response to the war in Gaza.

"This is an issue of independence and sovereignty for Cyprus," said Peter Iosif, a member of the Cyprus Peace Council, an organizer of Sunday's demonstration. "At this time it becomes even more obvious how the British bases are acting against the will of the Cyprus people," he said.

In response to the protests, a British bases spokesperson said: "No RAF flights have transported lethal cargo to the Israeli Defense Forces."

"In addition, it is standard practice for the UK Ministry of Defense to routinely authorize requests for (a) limited number of allies and partners to access the UK's air bases. Such activity must be in line with UK policy for evacuation and humanitarian purposes only."

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At Least 148 Are Dead in Floods and Landslides in Nepal

Residents clean mud outside their houses in a flood-affected area following heavy monsoon rains in Kathmandu on September 29, 2024. (AFP)
Residents clean mud outside their houses in a flood-affected area following heavy monsoon rains in Kathmandu on September 29, 2024. (AFP)
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At Least 148 Are Dead in Floods and Landslides in Nepal

Residents clean mud outside their houses in a flood-affected area following heavy monsoon rains in Kathmandu on September 29, 2024. (AFP)
Residents clean mud outside their houses in a flood-affected area following heavy monsoon rains in Kathmandu on September 29, 2024. (AFP)

Rescuers in Nepal recovered dozens of bodies from buses and other vehicles that were buried in landslides near the capital Kathmandu, as the death toll from flooding rose to at least 148 with dozens missing, officials said Sunday.

The weather improved on Sunday following three days of monsoon rains, and rescue and clean-up efforts were underway. Kathmandu remained cut off Sunday as three highways out of the city were blocked by landslides.

Rescuers retrieved 14 bodies overnight from two buses that were headed to Kathmandu when a landslide buried them. Another 23 bodies were dug out from vehicles Sunday on the same spot, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from Kathmandu, and workers searched for others who may have been buried.

A statement by the Nepal police said another 101 people were injured in the flooding and landslides while 50 are missing. The death toll was expected to rise as reports come in from villages across the mountainous country.

Residents in the southern part of Kathmandu, which was inundated on Saturday, were cleaning up houses as water levels began to recede. At least 34 people were killed in Kathmandu, which was the hardest hit by flooding.

Police and soldiers were assisting with rescue efforts, while heavy equipment was used to clear the landslides from the roads. The government announced it was closing schools and colleges across Nepal for the next three days.

The monsoon season began in June and usually ends by mid-September.