Israel: Hamas says Iran attack on Israel 'legitimate and deserved'

The Israeli army said World Food Programme aid that arrived via the Ashdod port entered the besieged Gaza Strip on Wednesday through an Israeli land crossing."Eight World Food Programme trucks of flour entered the Gaza Strip from the Ashdod port today," the army said in a statement. Earlier this month Israel said it would use the Ashdod port, just north of Gaza, to deliver aid to the Palestinian territory which the UN and aid agencies have repeatedly warned was on the brink of famine.

Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan on Wednesday accused Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of taking advantage of regional tensions "to stay in power". "It is clear that Netanyahu is trying to drag the region into war to stay in power," Fidan told a news conference in Qatar, more than six months into the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was important that Iran's attack on Israel did not cause the current conflict to escalate, adding he was under the impression that this had been understood by the affected parties. "For us, it is important that this moment is now also used for further de-escalation and that Israel ... does not respond with a massive attack of its own," Scholz said in Brussels.

The Republican leader in the House of Representatives announced Wednesday a vote on renewing long-delayed US military aid to Ukraine, as well as to Israel. The move sets up a showdown with his own far-right wing that for months has blocked helping the outgunned Ukrainian forces. "We expect the vote on final passage on these bills to be on Saturday evening," Speaker Mike Johnson announced.

European foreign ministers want to impose new sanctions on those who arm Israel's foes and those who attack ships in the Red Sea, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Wednesday. "There was a unanimous consensus that sanctions should be imposed on all those who give drones, weapons and missiles to those who attack Israel and those who attack ships in the Red Sea," Tajani said, speaking the day after a meeting of EU foreign ministers. Tajani said the issue of sanctions would also be addressed during a meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers that he is due to chair over the coming three days in the Italian island of Capri.

Palestinian militant group Hamas said Wednesday that Iran's weekend attack on Israel was a "legitimate and deserved" response to a strike on the Islamic republic's consulate in Syria. In its first reaction to the Iranian aerial attack, Hamas said it was a "legitimate and deserved response to the Zionist entity's... targeting of the Iranian consulate building in Damascus" on April 1. "The response from the Islamic Republic of Iran confirms that the time when the Zionist entity (Israeli) could act as it wanted without accountability or punishment has ended," Hamas added in a statement.

The Republican leader in the House of Representatives said Wednesday that a vote will be held Saturday on his proposal for renewing long-delayed US military aid to Ukraine, as well as for Israel. "We expect the vote on final passage on these bills to be on Saturday evening," Speaker Mike Johnson announced.

Israel faced pressure from its allies on Wednesday to refrain from striking back at Iran for its unprecedented missile and drone attack as Washington and Brussels vowed to ramp up sanctions against the Islamic republic. As Iran marked its annual Army Day, it showed off a range of its weapons Wednesday, including attack drones and longer-range ballistic missiles, in a military parade in Tehran.

President Joe Biden urged Congress to approve a long-delayed military aid package for Ukraine and Israel on Wednesday, saying the US allies are in a "pivotal" moment of conflicts against Russia and Iran. "While both countries can capably defend their own sovereignty, they depend on American assistance, including weaponry, to do it. And this is a pivotal moment," Biden wrote in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.

Israel's cabinet on Wednesday approved a five-year, 19-billion-shekel ($5 billion) plan to rebuild and strengthen communities near the Gaza border after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would invest the funds in housing, infrastructure, education, employment, health and other areas. "Hamas terrorists wanted to uproot us - but we will uproot them and deepen our roots," he said in a statement. "We will build the Land of Israel and protect our country." His office said local communities would work with government ministries, and along with the business sector and philanthropy, to bring the region to be a "vital, flourishing and attractive area".

The Arrow 3 missile defense system, designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles, was deployed successfully against a missile salvo for the first time over the weekend to repel the Iranian attack on Israel, the system’s maker said Wednesday. Speaking to AP, Boaz Levy, chief executive of state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, the primary builder of the Arrow system, said that the system has been “operational for decades,” but was used Saturday “for the very first time against ballistic missiles in a salvo scenario,” intercepting high-flying munitions inside and outside the atmosphere. Of about 300 drones and missiles launched by Iran into Israeli airspace Saturday night, the military says that 99% were intercepted by Israel’s multilayered air defense system, wounding only one person — a young girl.

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday expressed her country’s full solidarity with Israel in the face of Iran’s attack on the weekend. She vowed consequences for Iran and said the European Union was working on imposing on further sanctions. “We will not tolerate this. We stand in full solidarity with Israel,” she told reporters. “Iran and its proxies such as Hezbollah or the Houthis must not be allowed to add fuel to the fire.”

Israel will make its own decisions about how to defend itself, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, as Western countries pleaded for restraint in responding to a volley of attacks from Iran.

European Union leaders will meet on Wednesday to discuss stepping up sanctions against Iran after Tehran's missile and drone attack on Israel. The bloc's 27 national leaders will hold a summit in Brussels as world powers try to prevent a wider conflict in the Middle East, more than six months into the war between Israel and the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israel has not said how it will respond to Saturday's attack, but EU leaders have urged it to exercise restraint while signalling their readiness to tighten sanctions on Tehran.

At least 14 people were wounded Wednesday in a village in northern Israel, a local hospital said, after a drone and missile attack claimed by Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group. "Fourteen wounded people have been evacuated from Arab al-Aramshe village on the northern border, including two who are seriously wounded," the Galilee Medical Centre said in a statement.

David Cameron appears to be playing a significant role in influencing Britain's foreign policy concerning Israel, raising questions about who is really shaping the nation's diplomatic directions under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan said Wednesday he will host the leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Turkey this weekend. "The leader of the Palestinian cause will be my guest this weekend," Erdogan, an outspoken critic of Israel, told lawmakers. Private television channel NTV reported that the two men would meet on Saturday at the Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul. Their last meeting was in July 2023 when Erdogan hosted Haniyeh at the presidential palace in Ankara alongside Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that Iran's attack on Israel was the latest signal of intent of a "new league of authoritarians", mentioning Russia and North Korea as well. Speaking at a defence and security conference in Brussels, she added that this league is working to tear up international rules-based order and to stretch democracies to a breaking point.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the visiting foreign ministers of Germany and Britain for their support on Wednesday but said Israel would reach its own decisions on its security. "I want to make it clear - we will make our own decisions, and the State of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself," he said, according to a statement released by his office.

German foreign minister, who is on a visit to Israel amid escalating crisis, said that Iran attack on Israel shows Tehran not afraid of escalating regional conflict. He also added, "Made clear in talks in Isral that Middle East must not slide into situation with unclear ending."

Iran’s president has warned that the “tiniest invasion” by Israel would bring a “massive and harsh” response, as the region braces for potential Israeli retaliation after Iran’s attack over the weekend. President Ebrahim Raisi spoke Wednesday at an annual army parade that was relocated to a barracks north of the capital, Tehran, from its usual venue on a highway in the city’s southern outskirts. Iranian authorities gave no explanation for its relocation, and state television didn't broadcast it live, as it has in previous years. Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel over the weekend in response to an apparent Israeli strike on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed 12 people, including two Iranian generals. Israel, with help from the United States, the United Kingdom, neighboring Jordan and other nations, successfully intercepted nearly all the missiles and drones.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it launched a drone and missile attack on an Israeli base on Wednesday in response to strikes that killed three Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah launched "a combined attack with guided missiles and explosive drones on a military reconnaissance command centre" in northern Israel, "in response to the enemy assassinating a number of resistance fighters in Ain Baal and Shehabiya" on Tuesday, the movement said.

Israel has clearly decided to retaliate against Iran for missile and drone attacks, Britain's foreign minister David Cameron said during a visit to Israel on Wednesday, the starkest warning yet of another volley coming in regional escalation.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said on Wednesday that if Israel makes the slightest act of aggression on Iran's soil, it will be dealt a powerful and fierce blow. Addressing a parade of the Iran Army on the occasion of National Army Day, President Raisi said that Iran's retaliatory operation against the Israeli regime, dubbed 'Operation True Promise', was "limited" and "punitive", according to a report by IRNA.

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas to secure a truce in Gaza and a hostage exchange have stalled, Qatar's prime minister said on Wednesday. "We are going through a sensitive stage with some stalling, and we are trying as much as possible to address this stalling," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told a news conference with Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. Qatar, with the United States and Egypt, has been engaged in weeks of behind-the-scenes talks to secure a truce in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Israel faced pressure from its allies on Wednesday to refrain from striking back at Iran for its unprecedented missile and drone attack as Washington and Brussels vowed to ramp up sanctions against the Islamic republic. British foreign secretary David Cameron and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock were the first Western envoys to visit Israel and urge calm after Iran's weekend attack, against which Israel has vowed to retaliate.

Russia is in dialogue with both Iran and Israel and urged the need for de-escalation in the Middle East, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. Peskov said that Russia continues to have close contacts with Iran and also has constructive contacts with Israel. When asked if Tehran had warned Russia ahead of time about the strikes on Israel, Peskov said he had nothing to say on the matter.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Bagheri Kani stated that Iran would respond against Israel within a “few seconds” of an Israeli attack. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi emphasized in separate phone calls to several foreign leaders, including his Qatari and Russian counterparts, that Iran would respond “more fiercely, widely and painfully” if Israel retaliates against Iran.The spokesperson of Iran’s Parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee claimed that Iran is “ready to use weapons that it has not used before” during an interview with Lebanese Hezbollah-controlled media on April 16.

Iran celebrated the "success" of its weekend drone and missile attack on Israel as it staged an annual military parade on Wednesday. The Islamic republic launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel on Saturday in response to an April 1 air strike on its consulate in Damascus which has been widely blamed on Israel. The operation dubbed Honest Promise "brought down the glory of the Zionist regime (Israel)", President Ebrahim Raisi said at a military base on the outskirts of Tehran.

British foreign minister David Cameron said it was clear Israel had made a decision to respond to the Iranian drone and ballistic missile attack and he hoped this would be carried out in a way that minimised escalation. "It's clear the Israelis are making a decision to act," Cameron, who was speaking to reporters in Israel, said on Wednesday. "We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible." Britain wanted to see coordinated sanctions against Iran, he added.

Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani on Wednesday called on Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza, reiterating that it was time for a cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave. Italy initially backed Israel's actions following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on its southern territories, but more recently it has softened its support in the light of the thousands of civilian deaths.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for restraint amid escalating tensions following Iran's weekend drone and missile attack on Israel, Al Jazeera reported.Putin conveyed his message during a phone call with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday, focusing on "retaliatory measures taken by Iran" in response to an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus earlier on April 1. In the call, Putin stressed the importance of avoiding actions that could lead to further confrontation and potentially catastrophic outcomes for the Middle East. The Kremlin emphasised Putin's hope for all parties to exercise restraint. Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday in response to the Israeli strike in Damascus, which killed seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two generals.

Israeli tanks pushed back into parts of the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday which they had left weeks ago, while warplanes conducted air strikes on Rafah, residents reported. They also said that internet outage has happened in the areas of Beit Hanoun and Jabalia in northern Gaza.

Israel and Iran traded threats after Tehran's first-ever direct attack on its arch-foe sharply heightened tensions in a region already on edge after six months of war in Gaza. The war in the besieged territory and its soaring civilian toll have revived the push for a two-state solution, with the UN Security Council preparing to vote Thursday on full United Nations membership for a Palestinian state, according to diplomatic sources. The United States, meanwhile, announced Tuesday that it was preparing new sanctions on Iran's missile and drone programme after its weekend attack on Israel, and the EU's foreign policy chief signalled the bloc would levy new punitive measures as well.

The US and its allies planned fresh sanctions against Iran over its unprecedented attack on Israel, seeking to dissuade Israel from a major escalation as its war cabinet was set to meet for a third time on Wednesday to decide a response. While Saturday night's attack caused no deaths and little damage thanks to the air defences and countermeasures of Israel and its allies, it has increased fears that violence rooted in the six-month-old Gaza war is spreading, with the risk of open war between long-time adversaries Iran and Israel.

The UN Security Council will vote Thursday on the Palestinians' application to become a full member state of the United Nations, several diplomatic sources told AFP. Amid Israel's offensive in Gaza, the Palestinians in early April revived a membership application first made to the world body in 2011, though the veto-wielding United States has expressed opposition to the proposal.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that three Hezbollah fighters, including two commanders, were killed in its airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, CNN reported.According to the statement released by IDF, the "Commander of the Rockets and Missiles Unit of Radwan Forces' Western Region," Muhammad Hussein Shahouri, was killed in an airstrike in Kfar Dounine in south Lebanon."The IDF statement reads, "As part of his role, Muhammad planned and promoted rocket and missile launches toward Israeli territory from the areas of Lebanon's central and western regions."According to the IDF, Mahmoud Ibrahim Fadlallah, "an operative of Hezbollah's Rockets and Missiles Unit," was also killed in the same airstrike.Earlier, the IDF, in a separate statement, announced that Ismail Youssef Bazz, "the commander of Hezbollah's coastal sector, in the area of Ain Ebel in Lebanon," was killed in its airstrike in southern Lebanon, CNN reported.

The United States plans to impose new sanctions on Iran in the coming days to punish it for the attacks on Israel over the weekend, US officials said Tuesday.Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said in a statement that the sanctions would target Iran's "missile and drone program" and entities that support the country's military groups."These new sanctions and other measures will continue a steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran's military capacity and effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviors," Sullivan said.Sullivan did not specify how the sanctions might undermine Iranian weapons programs, but a Treasury official, who declined to be named in order to discuss private deliberations, said the United States was looking at ways to cut off Iran's access to military components that it uses to build weapons such as the drones that it used against Israel.On Saturday night, Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike that killed several senior Iranian military officials in Syria earlier in the month. Most of the missiles and drones were intercepted and shot down by Israel and its allies, including the United States and Britain.The United States has imposed extensive sanctions on Iran over the years as part of a broad effort to put pressure on its economy and prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. Yellen noted that the Biden administration had already targeted more than 500 Iranian individuals and entities associated with terrorist financing over the last three years.At a news conference Tuesday ahead of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen suggested that the Biden administration was considering ways to further restrict Iranian oil exports."I fully expect that we will take additional sanctions action against Iran in the coming days," Yellen said.

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday launched a diplomatic offensive against Iran, which he said would be carried out alongside Israel's military response - whatever that may be - to that country's firing of hundreds of missiles and the UAVs (drones) at Israel the other day.To that end, Tuesday morning he sent letters to 32 countries and spoke with dozens of foreign ministers and leading figures around the world calling for sanctions to be imposed on the Iranian missile project and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be declared a terrorist organization, as a way to curb and weaken Iran."Iran must be stopped now - before it is too late," said Katz.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held a telephonic conversation with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Tuesday and reiterated the UK's support for Israel's security after Iran's attack over the weekend. The UK PM noted that further escalation will only deepen instability in the region.In a post on X, Rishi Sunak stated, "Earlier today, I spoke to Prime Minister @netanyahu and reiterated our support for Israel's security following Iran's reckless attack at the weekend. Further significant escalation will only deepen instability in the region. This is a moment for calm heads to prevail."During the talks, Sunak said Iran had badly miscalculated and was increasingly isolated on the global stage, with the G7 coordinating a diplomatic response. He stressed that significant escalation was in no one's interest and would only deepen insecurity in the Middle East.A statement released by the UK PM's office stated, "He reiterated the UK's steadfast support for Israel's security and for wider regional stability. Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked the UK for its rapid and robust support in the face of Iran's reckless and dangerous attack on Saturday."On Gaza, UK PM Rishi Sunak said he remained "gravely concerned" about the deepening humanitarian crisis. He stated that the UK wanted to see a massive step change in aid access to flood Gaza with vital supplies, including Israel opening up new aid routes as quickly as possible.A statement released by the UK PM's office stated, "The Prime Minister said it was deeply disappointing that Hamas blocked a deal at the weekend that would have saved Palestinian lives and secured the safe release of hostages."Iran on Saturday night launched a barrage of 300 attack drones and missiles from its territory towards Israel, triggering air raid sirens throughout the country on Sunday morning as the military tried to intercept the Iranian projectiles, The Times of Israel reported.

Israel's foreign minister said on Tuesday he was urging countries to place sanctions on Iran's missile programme and proscribe its Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation after Iran's first-ever direct attack on Israel."Alongside the military response to the firing of missiles and drones, I am leading a diplomatic attack against Iran," Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a social media post.Katz said he sent letters to 32 countries and spoke with numerous counterparts, calling on them to "place sanctions on Iran's missile project and declare the Revolutionary Guard a terror organisation, as a way to stop and weaken Iran.""We must stop Iran now, before it will be too late."Israel has said it would respond to Iran's weekend missile and drone attack, amid calls for restraint by allies anxious to avoid an escalation of conflict in the Middle East.

Britain condemns the killing of Israeli teenager Binyamin Achimair and is alarmed by the "shocking levels of violence" in the occupied West Bank after his death, the country's defence department said in a statement on Tuesday."These killings, and subsequent actions, are escalating violence in the Occupied West Bank and the wider region at a critical time. It is vital that Israeli authorities restore calm and conduct urgent and transparent investigations into all deaths", the statement added.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Tuesday said Iraq has not received any reports or indications that missiles or drones were launched from Iraq during Iran's attack on Israel.Iraq is a rare ally of both Washington and Tehran. Iraqi airspace was a main route for Iran’s unprecedented drone and ballistic missile attack on Israel, and Iraqi officials say Iran informed them, as well as other countries in the region, ahead of the attack."Our position is clear, and we will not allow Iraq to be thrown into the arena of conflict," al-Sudani said in a statement.Iran on Saturday launched more than 300 drones and missiles against Israel, its first direct attack on the country, in retaliation for a suspected Israeli air strike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 11 that killed elite military officers.

Israel and Iran traded threats on Tuesday after Tehran's first-ever direct attack on its arch-foe sharply heightened regional tensions as the Gaza war ground on with no truce in sight.Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Iran would not get off "scot-free" after Tehran and its allies launched a barrage of over 300 missiles, drones and rockets at Israel at the weekend."We cannot stand still from this kind of aggression," Hagari said, a day after Israel's military chief vowed there would be "a response" to Iran's offensive. Iran said its attack was an act of self-defence following a deadly Israeli air strike on its consulate in Syria, and that it would consider the matter "concluded" unless Israel retaliated.Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi warned that "the slightest action against Iran's interests will definitely be met with a severe, extensive and painful response".

US treasury secretary Janet Yellen Tuesday warned that the US intends to hit Iran with new sanctions in coming days over its unprecedented attack on Israel, and these actions could seek to reduce Iran’s capacity to export oil.

“We don’t preview our sanctions tools. But in discussions I’ve had, all options to disrupt terrorist financing of Iran continue to be on the table,” Yellen told a news conference in Washington. She said the treasury and state department have taken previous action to contain Iran’s “destabilising” behavior by diminishing its ability to export oil. “Clearly, Iran is continuing to export some oil. There may be more that we could do.

Yellen said Iran’s attack on Israel last weekend and its financing of militant groups in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq threatened stability in West Asia and could cause economic spillovers. Her remarks came as Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said he was “leading a diplomatic attack”, writing to 32 countries to ask them to place sanctions on Iran’s missile programme and follow the US in proscribing its dominant military force, the Revolutionary Guard Corps, as a terror group. (Reuters)

Israel's Ministry of Communications is taking action against the importation of drones that are prohibited for use in Israel.

Such drones (also known as unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs) can interfere with communications systems throughout the country and even be mistaken for drones launched by terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

As such, the ministry intends to impose a financial sanction of approximately 240,000 Shekels (USD 65,000) on the company AP Aerial Solutions for illegally importing drones under "aggravating circumstances."

This is because the drones imported by the company operate in frequency ranges that may cause wireless interference to security forces, and therefore it was defined as a violation under aggravating circumstances. The violation was discovered following an initiative inspection by the inspection and spectrum team at the Ministry of Communications.

The Director General of the Ministry of Communications, Inbal Meshash: "The importation of drones that transmit on prohibited frequencies, during wartime, is an illegal and serious phenomenon and the Ministry will continue to act to thwart it and take enforcement procedures against the violators."

Even during the war, employees of the Ministry of Communications check every day hundreds of items of wireless communication equipment and release them to the public without delays. (ANI)

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the main one to blame for Iran's first-ever direct attack on Israel.

"The main one responsible for the tension that gripped our hearts on the evening of April 13 is Netanyahu and his bloody administration", the Turkish leader, who regularly criticises Israel and its leadership, said in televised remarks. (AFP)

When Israel responds to the unprecedented weekend Iranian drone and missile salvoes, its aim will be to send a message of deterrence to Tehran while drawing a line under this round of hostilities, a senior Israeli lawmaker said on Tuesday.

Among Israeli considerations in planning a counter-strike are the war-wariness of Westerns powers, the risk to air crews from any sorties against Iran and the need to keep focus on the more than half-year-long Gaza offensive, Yuli Edelstein said.

"We'll have to react. Iranians will know we reacted. And I sincerely hope that it will teach them a lesson that you can't attack a sovereign country just because you find it doable," said Edelstein, who chairs the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee.

But he added: "I sincerely hope that they will understand that the it's not in their interest to continue this kind of exchange of blows. We are not interested in a full-scale war. We are not, as I have said, in the business of revenge." (Reuters)

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that she intends to hit Iran with new sanctions in coming days due to its unprecedented attack on Israel, and it could seek to reduce Iran's capacity to export oil.

"With respect to sanctions, I fully expect that we will take additional sanctions action against Iran in the coming days," Yellen said, adding that Iran's oil exports "remains in focus as a possible area that we could address." (Reuters)