AUSTIN, Texas: Investigators believe a package bomb that killed a teenager and wounded a woman in Austin on Monday is linked to a similar bombing that killed a man elsewhere in the city this month, and they’re considering whether race was a factor because all of the victims were black.
The explosion Monday happened inside of a home near the Windsor Park neighborhood and killed a 17-year-old boy and badly wounded a woman who is expected to survive, Austin’s police Chief Brian Manley told reporters.
Shortly after the news conference ended, police were called to investigate another explosion in a different part of east Austin. Authorities haven’t said whether that explosion was also caused by a bomb.
Austin-Travis County EMS tweeted that the later blast left a woman in her 70s with potentially life-threatening injuries, and that a second woman in her 80s was being treated for an unrelated medical issue. Authorities haven’t said whether the injured woman is also black.
The explosions happened with hundreds of thousands of visitors in the city for the South by Southwest music, film and technology festival, and authorities urged the public to call the police if they receive any packages they aren’t expecting.
The first explosion on Monday happened about 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the home where a March 2 package bombing killed 39-year-old Anthony Stephan House. The March 2 blast was initially investigated as a suspicious death, but is now viewed as a homicide.
Manley said investigators believe the deadly attacks are related, as in both cases, the packages were left overnight on the victims’ doorsteps and were not mailed or sent by a delivery service. He said the US Postal Service doesn’t have a record of delivering the package to the East Austin home where Monday’s explosion occurred, and that private carriers like UPS and FedEx also indicated that they had none, either.
“There are similarities that we cannot rule out that these two items are, in fact, related,” Manley said.
Manley said investigators haven’t determined a motive for the attacks, but it is possible that the victims could have been targeted because they are black.
“We don’t know what the motive behind these may be,” Manley said. “We do know that both of the homes that were the recipients of these packages belong to African-Americans, so we cannot rule out that hate crime is at the core of this. But we’re not saying that that’s the cause as well.”
Special Agent Michelle Lee, a San Antonio-based spokesman for the FBI, said the agency “responded to both events” and was assisting Austin police which were taking the lead on investigating. She said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was taking the lead on the federal investigation.
Manley said that a second package was discovered near the site of the initial Monday explosion and that some residents and media members were evacuated or pushed farther from the blast site as authorities determined whether it was a bomb.
Police didn’t immediately identify the teenager killed Monday. Manley said the woman who was injured in that attack is a 40-year-old woman who remains hospitalized.
US police eye race factor in Texas capital’s 2 deadly package bombs explosions
US police eye race factor in Texas capital’s 2 deadly package bombs explosions
5 dead, 29 missing after ferry sinks on way to Indonesia’s Bali
- Java-based Surabaya search and rescue agency head Nanang Sigit told AFP that a fifth victim was found dead on Thursday
- “Thirty-one victims were found safe, five died, 29 people are still being searched for,” Nanang said
DENPASAR, Indonesia: At least five people were dead and dozens unaccounted for Thursday after a ferry sank in rough seas on its way to Indonesian resort island Bali, according to rescue authorities who said 31 survivors had been plucked from the water so far.
Rescuers were racing to find 29 people still missing at sea after the vessel carrying 65 passengers and crew sank before midnight on Wednesday, as it sailed to the popular holiday destination from Indonesia’s main island Java.
“The ferry tilted and immediately sank,” survivor Eka Toniansyah told reporters at a Bali hospital.
“Most of the passengers were from Indonesia. I was with my father. My father is dead.”
Java-based Surabaya search and rescue agency head Nanang Sigit told AFP that a fifth victim was found dead on Thursday afternoon.
“Thirty-one victims were found safe, five died, 29 people are still being searched for,” Nanang said.
President Prabowo Subianto, who was on a trip to Saudi Arabia, ordered an immediate emergency response, cabinet secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said, adding the cause of the accident was “bad weather.”
Nanang said earlier Thursday efforts to reach the doomed vessel were initially hampered by adverse weather conditions.
Waves as high as 2.5 meters (8 feet) with “strong winds and strong currents” had affected the rescue operation, he said, adding conditions have since improved.
A rescue team of at least 54 personnel was dispatched along with inflatable rescue boats, he said, while a bigger vessel was later sent from Surabaya city.
Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency chief Mohammad Syafii told a news conference that the agency sent a helicopter to help the effort.
Nanang said rescuers would follow currents and expand the search area if there were still people unaccounted for by the end of the day.
“For today’s search, we are still focusing on search above the water where initial victims were found,” the Surabaya search and rescue chief said.
The ferry’s manifest showed 53 passengers and 12 crew members, he said, but rescuers were still assessing if there were more people onboard.
It is common in Indonesia for the actual number of passengers on a boat to differ from the manifest.
It was unclear if any foreigners were on board.
The ferry crossing from Ketapang port in Java to Bali’s Gilimanuk port is one of the busiest in the country and takes around one hour.
It is often used by people crossing between the islands by car.
Four of the known survivors saved themselves by using the ferry’s lifeboat and were found in the water early Thursday, the Surabaya rescue agency said.
It said the ferry was also transporting 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks.
Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of around 17,000 islands, in part due to lax safety standards and sometimes due to bad weather.
In March, a boat carrying 16 people capsized in rough waters off Bali, killing an Australian woman and injuring at least one other person.
A ferry carrying more than 800 people in 2022 ran aground in shallow waters off East Nusa Tenggara province, where it remained stuck for two days before being dislodged with no one hurt.
And in 2018, more than 150 people drowned when a ferry sank in one of the world’s deepest lakes on Sumatra island
Pakistan dismisses Indian rights abuse claims, accuses New Delhi of persecuting minorities
- The exchange between the two countries took place during at the United Nations General Assembly
- Pakistan says New Delhi has ‘weaponized hate’ and ‘codified discrimination’ against its own people
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has strongly rejected Indian allegations of minority rights violations, accusing New Delhi of persecuting its own citizens and “exporting chaos abroad,” the state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency reported on Thursday.
The exchange took place during a debate in the United Nations General Assembly on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), a global commitment aimed at preventing genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
Addressing the session, Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Usman Jadoon, criticized what he described as the selective application of the R2P doctrine, saying it had become “meaningless” in the face of the international community’s failure to prevent mass atrocities in Palestine and Indian-administered Kashmir.
India responded by accusing Pakistan of violating the rights of its minorities and being complicit in a recent militant attack in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Exercising her right of reply, Pakistani delegate Rabia Ijaz, a second secretary at Pakistan’s UN Mission, dismissed the accusations as “a textbook case of the perpetrator posturing as a victim.”
“A state that has weaponized hate, normalized mob violence and codified discrimination against its own citizens – and against those it occupies – has no moral standing to speak on the Responsibility to Protect,” the APP quoted her as saying.
Ijaz went on to describe India as a “majoritarian autocracy,” where minorities, particularly Muslims, Christians and Dalits, face discrimination.
“Lynching is met with silence,” she continued. “Bulldozers become tools of collective punishment. Mosques are razed. Citizenship is denied based on religion.”
“This is not the protection of people,” she added. “This is their persecution, sanctified by law and celebrated by power.”
Ijaz maintained India had launched an “unprovoked and deliberate” cross-border attack on civilian areas in Pakistan earlier this year in May, killing 35 people.
“R2P cannot become a slogan for serial violators to hide behind,” she said. “It cannot be invoked by those who deny rights at home and export chaos abroad.”
India and Pakistan have long been at odds with each other, though diplomatic tensions have intensified in recent years.
The two nuclear-armed neighbors have repeatedly traded barbs at international forums particularly after their relationship deteriorated following the recent four-day military standoff, one of the most serious flare-ups in several decades.
Qatar, Kuwait, UAE see steady June PMI growth; Lebanon slows decline
RIYADH: Business activity across Middle Eastern economies showed mixed trends in June, with Qatar leading growth, Kuwait and the UAE holding steady, and Lebanon remaining in contraction despite easing declines, market trackers showed.
According to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index data from S&P Global, Kuwait’s PMI fell to 53.1 in June from 53.9 in May — a three-month low but still well above the neutral 50 mark, signaling a solid improvement in business conditions in the country’s non-oil private sector.
In the UAE, the PMI ticked up to 53.5 in June from 53.3 in May, while Qatar’s figure for the non-energy private sector rose to 52 in June from 50.8 in May,
Lebanon’s PMI edged up to 49.2 in June from 48.9, remaining below the 50 threshold for a fourth consecutive month.
The broadly positive figures are in line with World Bank forecasts that Gulf Cooperation Council economic growth will accelerate to 3.2 percent in 2025 and 4.5 percent in 2026, driven by the easing of OPEC+ oil cuts and strong non-oil sector expansion.
Kuwait growing despite slowdown
Kuwait’s PMI rating, which still shows growth despite a deceleration, comes amid expectations of an economic rebound, with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank projecting Kuwait’s real gross domestic product growth at 1.9 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively, for 2025.
Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “Sustained rises in workloads and increasing confidence for the year ahead have been good news for the Kuwaiti labor market, with companies looking to take on additional staff to keep on top of orders.
That said, he noted that even a record increase in employment in June failed to prevent a further buildup of outstanding business, suggesting the need for additional capacity improvements in the months ahead.
“All in all, the first half of 2025 has been a successful one for Kuwait’s non-oil private sector, and firms go into the second half of the year in good shape to continue expanding,” Harker added.
UAE PMI edges higher
Despite the UAE’s PMI figure inching up in June to 53.5 from 53.3 in the previous month, new business growth in the country slowed due to geopolitical tensions, faster output and stable inventories kept overall activity in expansion territory, according to newly released data from S&P Global.
The rise was attributed to firms ramping up efforts to clear backlogs, which boosted output growth and stabilized stock levels after May’s record decline.
Non-oil private sector firms in the country experienced softer demand toward the end of the second quarter, as heightened regional tensions led to more cautious client spending.
Geopolitical uncertainty also disrupted supply chains, though input cost pressures eased.
“The UAE non-oil sector showed signs of a minor setback in June due to the conflict between Israel and Iran. The impact was primarily felt on the demand side, as some businesses reported a slowdown in orders driven by heightened tensions,” said David Owen, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
He explained that this led to a further slowdown in overall new business growth, which fell to its lowest level in almost four years.
“However, with firms instead able to turn their attention to addressing the substantial level of outstanding work — evidenced since early 2024 — the impact on overall business conditions was negligible,” Owen said.
The senior economist noted that input costs rose at their slowest pace in nearly two years, allowing businesses to offer price reductions to customers. With consumer inflation remaining subdued, the data suggests a recovery in sales growth is likely in the near future — provided regional tensions ease, he explained.
Qatar extends expansion
Qatar’s PMI rise of 1.2 points marked the strongest growth since March and the 18th consecutive month of expansion. The uptick was driven by higher output and employment, though declines in new orders, input stocks, and faster supplier delivery times slightly offset the overall improvement. The reading of 52 remained just below the long-term average of 52.2.
The latest data signaled a stronger overall improvement in business conditions in Qatar’s non-energy sector at the halfway point of 2025, supported by a sharp rise in employment and renewed growth in activity.
Employment rose at one of the fastest rates since the survey began eight years ago, partly reflecting efforts to manage a quicker buildup of backlogged work. Output expanded despite a slight decline in new business.
“Growth remained modest overall, however, as the PMI has not beaten its long-run average of 52.2 so far this year. This can mainly be attributed to intermittent and muted growth of output and new orders, with the non-energy sector not registering concurrent growth in these two indicators since December 2024,” said Trevor Balchin, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“The overall strength of the headline PMI figure continues to be underpinned by rising employment, with companies seemingly undeterred by a lack of sustained demand growth. Ongoing hiring was corroborated by another rise in outstanding business in June, and at the fastest rate since last October,” he added.
Balchin also noted that wage growth accelerated in June, approaching the record set in January.
However, overall inflation remained moderate, as purchase price inflation eased to its lowest level in nearly a year, allowing companies to once again reduce the prices of their goods and services.
Lebanon contracts
Lebanon’s PMI signaled a slower pace of decline in private sector conditions as employment and inventory levels stabilized.
S&P data showed that Lebanon’s private sector remained in contraction at the end of the second quarter, though the pace of decline eased compared to May. Output fell more moderately despite weaker sales, while employment and inventory levels held steady. However, heightened regional tensions weighed on business confidence and pushed up purchasing costs.
“The escalation of the war between Iran and Israel resulted in weaker customer sales and client cancelations, leading to a drop in business activity,” said Fadi Osseiran, general manager of BLOMInvest BANK.
He noted that purchase prices incurred by companies had surged at the fastest pace in eight months, with these increases being passed on to clients. “What is unfortunate is the sharp drop in the Future Output Index, revealing pessimism at private sector companies regarding future outlook, as 53 percent of respondents expect activity levels to diminish in the upcoming 12 months,” Osseiran said.
Killings rise when Gaza Health Foundation distributes aid: Analysis
- Sky News finds correlation between aid drops, increased fatalities
- UN labels GHF sites ‘death traps,’ amid claims Israeli soldiers deliberately fire at civilians
LONDON: An investigation has found an increase in deaths in Gaza correlated with aid distribution overseen by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Health Foundation.
The GHF took over humanitarian supply systems in the Palestinian enclave in May, replacing around 400 distribution sites run by other charities and NGOs with four designated facilities, called Secure Distribution Sites.
They were meant to ensure that aid did not fall into the hands of Hamas or other armed groups, which Israel alleges frequently happened under the previous UN-backed system.
However, Gaza’s health authorities say more than 600 Palestinians have been killed trying to access aid at the sites, which the UN has labeled “death traps.” Israeli soldiers have been accused of opening fire directly at civilians.
Analysis conducted by Sky News suggests that killings rise when aid is distributed by the GHF.
Sky’s Data & Forensics Unit found that an average of 48 deaths and 189 injuries are reported when the GHF operates two or fewer aid distributions. That number rises almost threefold when it runs five to six aid drops.
Sky reported that between June 5 and July 1, 77 aid distributions were conducted by the GHF. Of those, 23 — or 30 percent of the total — resulted in reports of violence, and at SDS4 half of all drops saw bloodshed.
A recent report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz interviewed Israeli soldiers who said they were ordered to fire at crowds of unarmed Palestinians at the GHF sites.
The Israeli military denies the allegations, but said it is investigating incidents where civilians have been harmed.
The UN, in its most recent update on June 24, put the number of casualties at GHF sites at 410, citing data available from nearby hospitals.
The GHF has been severely criticized for the manner in which aid is distributed, with footage obtained by Sky on June 15 showing Palestinians at SDS1 crowding and rummaging among hundreds of scattered aid packages discarded on the floor.
Sky’s analysis found that aid is often delivered in significantly smaller quantities than required, with supplies running out on average after just nine minutes. At 23 percent of aid drops, supplies were exhausted before the official opening time.
Sky reported that 86 percent of distributions were announced to people in the area less than 30 minutes in advance, and that maps and instructions distributed to locals to navigate and access the sites were inaccurate or dangerous, including telling civilians trying to reach SDS2, 3 and 4 to congregate inside areas labeled live combat zones by Israel.
In addition, the congregation areas are typically some distance from the sites, causing surges when they open as people attempt to cover the open ground to access the aid.
The shortest distance from a waiting point to an SDS is 689 meters, at SDS4, approximately 10 minutes away on foot — more than the average time before supplies run out.
Sam Rose, director of operations in Gaza for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, called the GHF’s system a “free-for-all.”
He told Sky: “What they’re doing is, they’re loading up the boxes on the ground and then people just rush in.”
Rose added: “They (the GHF) don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t have anyone working on these operations who has any experience of operating, of administering food distributions because anyone who did have that experience wouldn’t want to be part of it because this isn’t how you treat people.”
A group of charities and humanitarian groups on Tuesday condemned the GHF’s operations, saying they violate international principles.
More than 200 groups have called for the reinstatement of the previous aid distribution system overseen by the UN.
Can Inzaghi and Al-Hilal go all the way?
- Arab News looks at possible ways that Al-Hilal can upset the odds to reach and possibly win the FIFA Club World Cup final
RIYADH: Al-Hilal are the talk of the football world after their sensational 4-3 win over Manchester City in the round of 16 at the FIFA Club World Cup.
Ahead of their quarterfinal against Brazil’s Fluminense on Friday, Arab News asked three experts on Saudi Arabia football how Al-Hilal can continue to upset the odds and potentially reach and win the final.
- Roel Coumans - Former Saudi Arabia national team assistant, head coach of Abha, Al-Hazm, Al-Adalah
“If Al-Hilal are in any European competition then they would be in the top four and there is no doubt that when Fluminense look at the Hilal team, they will not be underestimating them.
“In football everything is possible and Hilal can go all the way. I always tell my players to dream big, this is what football is all about.
“But it is important that Hilal don’t look forward too much, the next match is always the important one. There is a chance that after City the players may underestimate Fluminense and that is not possible at this level.
“They should involve the Brazilian players who can tell them about Fluminense.
“The game will be totally different to the City game. In that, they were the underdog and you have to defend much more than against Fluminense.
“When I look at Inzaghi’s tactics, he is always trying to play in a compact 4-5-1 formation and he will ensure that the system is not too different.
“There is a danger in that South America football is more physical and that may be something that the players are not used to.
“But now there is a good vibe around Al-Hilal. If Al-Dawsari can return that will be great as he adds creativity.”
- Paul Williams - Founder and host of The Asian Game podcast, football journalist
“Al-Hilal’s path to the Club World Cup final has certainly opened up after their stunning upset win over Manchester City. It was a landmark moment, not just for the club but for Saudi football.
“While the challenge on paper might look easier against Fluminense, it’s likely to be anything but.
“One has to consider the context and circumstances of the victory against Manchester City, which was achieved without three of their starting XI, who will all be absent again against Fluminense.
“Not to mention the physical and emotional toll that the 120 minutes in Orlando would have taken. But having slayed the Premier League giant, they’ll attack that game with a renewed sense of vigor.
“Should they get through, then a likely semifinal against Chelsea awaits, although one can never discount Palmeiras. But having beaten one Premier League giant already this tournament, facing Chelsea would hold no fears for them.
“And then it would likely be Real Madrid or PSG in the final, and having already gone toe-to-toe with Real Madrid in the opening game, and even shading that game for large parts, that is another that would hold no fear for Al-Hilal.
“Of course, as fun as it is to speculate, it’s all still hypothetical and Al-Hilal cannot allow itself to think any further than Fluminense this week. Having dispensed of Inter Milan, they have shown they also should not be taken lightly.
“But after defeating the might of Manchester City, Al-Hilal will now believe anything is possible.”
- John Duerden - Asia and Middle East football writer and analyst
“While it is premature to talk of the draw opening up for Al-Hilal, there is no doubt that the road to the final looks rockier on the other side.
“The biggest challenge may be coming back down to Earth after the win against Manchester City.
“Coach Inzaghi talked of how his team climbed Everest without oxygen against the European powerhouse, and while those words were perfect, the message has to now change.
“The summit is within sight but is still some distance away.
“Hilal are the talk of the football world, and that is a unique position for an Asian club to be in. Maybe now the pressure is off, the tournament will always be remembered as a success, whatever happens.
“Or maybe it will be hard, both physically (after 120 grueling minutes in the heat) and mentally, to recover from the last game.
“And, Fluminense will now be very wary, if they weren’t before. Inzaghi was happy to let City have most of the ball and City were happy to have it. Hilal were hugely impressive on the counter, but Fluminense are not likely to make the same mistakes that City did defensively.
“Korea’s Ulsan gave the Brazilian(s) many problems but couldn’t kill the game when they were ahead and eventually paid the price. Taking chances will be key.
“If Salem Al-Dawsari plays, then he could be the difference, though Hilal would love to have the physical presence of Aleksandar Mitrovic.
“A win means the last four and there is nobody to fear. If it is Chelsea in the semifinal then the London team are awkward opponents and able to pull off results when needed but they are a level below the elite of Europe.
“And that is Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern. Surely one of those will make the final.
“Hilal have impressed but would, rightly, be clear underdogs. Hilal are not expected to win but they have shown that they are capable of doing so.
“First though, that cliche has to be repeated all around the training ground over the next day or two ‘one game at a time.’”
