Four British holidaymakers die after being struck by stomach bugs on Cape Verde
Four British holidaymakers have tragically died within four months of contracting severe stomach bugs while on trips to Cape Verde, with their families now pursuing legal action.
These four are among six Britons who have died following holidays to the West African islands since January 2023, according to law firm Irwin Mitchell, which is investigating the cases.
The recent fatalities include Elena Walsh, 64, from Birmingham, Mark Ashley, 55, of Bedfordshire, Karen Pooley, 64, from Gloucestershire, and a 56-year-old man. All succumbed to severe gastric illnesses last year.
Mark Ashley’s wife, Emma, 55, expressed her family’s “complete shock” over his death.
“We went to Cape Verde expecting a relaxing break, but Mark became violently ill and never recovered,” she said.
Three days into their October holiday in 2025, Mr Ashley, a self-employed forklift truck driver, developed symptoms including stomach pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, and extreme lethargy.
The couple had booked their £3,000 trip with Tui and stayed at the five-star Riu Palace Santa Maria resort in Sal.
Mrs Ashley reported her husband’s illness via the Tui app on 9 October 2025 and has since raised concerns about the hotel’s hygiene standards. Upon their return to the UK, Mr Ashley’s symptoms persisted.
The father-of-two, who managed diabetes with medication, collapsed at home in Houghton Regis and was rushed to hospital on 12 November, but was pronounced dead minutes later. His death has been referred to the coroner.
Part-time nurse and mother-of-one Elena Walsh died in August 2025 after falling ill while staying at the Riu Cabo Verde resort on the same island.
Karen Pooley, from Lydney, travelled with a friend to the Riu Funana resort in Sal on 7 October 2025 for a two-week holiday, also booked through Tui.
The retired mother-of-two became unwell on 11 October with gastric symptoms, including diarrhoea.
In the early hours of the following day, she slipped on water leaking from a fridge while going to the bathroom.
She was transferred to a local clinic, where she continued to suffer from diarrhoea and vomiting, alongside severe pain from a fractured femur. Ms Pooley was airlifted to Tenerife for urgent care on 16 October but died the next morning.
Her husband, Andy, 62, shared his devastation: “We’re utterly heartbroken. Karen was the kindest, loveliest person. She was a devoted wife and mum who loved swimming, walking the dog in the Forest of Dean, and volunteered at a local charity shop. She was also a wonderful friend who lit up every room she entered.”
He noted his wife appeared in “significant distress” during video calls and criticised the poor communication from the clinic and holiday provider. “We were desperate for updates while watching Karen get worse,” he added.
“We’re devastated and struggling to understand how she went on holiday and never came home.” Ms Pooley’s initial death certificate cited multi-organ failure, sepsis, cardio-respiratory arrest, and a broken left leg.
Irwin Mitchell is representing the families of all six deceased individuals, as well as over 1,500 other people who have fallen ill after visits to Cape Verde.
The other two Britons who died since 2023 are Jane Pressley, 62, of Gainsborough, who passed away in January 2023 after falling ill at the Riu Palace Hotel in Santa Maria, Sal, the previous November, and a man in his 60s from Watford, who died in November 2024 after suffering gastric illness.
Jatinder Paul, a serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, highlighted the severity of the situation.
“The number of holidaymakers to Cape Verde being struck down with serious and debilitating gastric illnesses is truly staggering. Nothing brings the gravity of this situation into sharper focus than these recent deaths,” he stated.
“In my experience I’m used to supporting holidaymakers who have fallen ill at resorts across the globe, but I’ve never seen repeated and continued illness outbreaks at the same resorts on such a scale over such a period of time.”
Mr Paul added: “It’s almost incomprehensible that holidaymakers continue to describe the hygiene issues at these Cape Verde hotels year-after-year. Each case isn’t a statistic; it’s a human story of how lives have been turned upside down.”
He urged tour operators to take “meaningful and decisive action” to address the reported hygiene problems, emphasising their responsibility for the safety of package holiday customers.
The families of all six deceased are pursuing personal injury claims for damages against Tui, which provided many of the package holidays to the island nation.
Tui has been contacted for comment.
Starmer attacks Farage over ‘botched’ Brexit
Sir Keir Starmer has challenged Nigel Farage’s past Brexit promises, dismissing them as unfulfilled and urging people not to heed the Reform leader’s ideas on the UK’s ties with Europe.
The Labour leader’s remarks came as he outlined his party’s ambition for closer cooperation with Europe, particularly on defence and trade.
Responding to questions about whether his stance was an attempt to roll back Brexit and create a dividing line with Mr Farage, Sir Keir said: “As far as Nigel Farage is concerned, let us remind ourselves that he said if we left the EU it would be £350 million a week for the NHS – that didn’t happen.
“He said if we left the EU there would be less red tape for trading into Europe – try telling that to any business that is trading into Europe.
“He said if we left the EU regular migration would go down – it quadrupled under the Boris wave. So I wouldn’t listen too much to what Nigel Farage has to say about this.”
Sir Keir described the previous government’s Brexit deal as “botched” and highlighted Labour’s efforts to negotiate new arrangements, including on food and agriculture, which he said “lead to lower prices in our supermarkets”.
The Labour leader has also indicated a desire for closer collaboration with Europe on defence, coinciding with upcoming trade talks between the EU and UK.
The latest meeting of the EU-UK Partnership Council is scheduled for the coming week, where Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds will discuss ongoing efforts to forge closer ties with the bloc.
Sir Keir was also questioned about the possibility of Britain joining the European Union’s new €150 billion (£130 billion) Security Action for Europe (Safe) rearmament fund.
Reports suggest that talks about Britain’s participation broke down in late 2025, with the entry price deemed too high. France was reportedly responsible for insisting on the cost, although officials there have denied this.
While the upcoming talks will not include Safe, Sir Keir was asked if he saw a case for joining the initiative if the price was right and it served the national interest.
He told reporters: “Europe, including the UK, needs to do more on security and defence. That’s an argument I’ve been making for many months now with European leaders.
“We’ve got to step up and do more. It’s not only President Donald Trump who thinks Europe needs to do more but other presidents as well. I think the same.”
He added: “I do think on spend, capability and co-operation we need to do more together. I’ve made the argument and that should require us to look at schemes like Safe and others to see whether there is a way in which we can work more closely together.
“Whether it’s Safe or other initiatives, it makes good sense for Europe in the widest sense of the word – which is the EU, plus other European countries – to work more closely together. That’s what I’ve been advocating and I hope to make some progress on that.”
‘Fergie Time’ win over Fulham restores feelgood factor at Man Utd
When Manchester United scored their injury-time winner, the cameras panned to Sir Alex Ferguson, because that is what happens at such moments. It was Fergie Time.
It was also a Carrick scoreline, though. A second successive 3-2 win, a third in the six matches Michael Carrick has overseen – including three in 2021 – seemed confirmation that, calm a character as the head coach is, he can preside over some dramatic, terrific matches.
Benjamin Sesko got the role that some of Carrick’s former teammates used to adopt, whether Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Federico Macheda or Javier Hernandez: the super-sub turned match-winner. The Slovenian had hit the post with his first touch, a glancing header. In the 94th minute, he span, shot and sent the ball spiralling into the top corner, a brilliant finish to cut off a superb Fulham comeback. “A huge moment,” said Carrick.
Sesko had looked to be one of those suffering from Carrick’s appointment, a scorer of three goals in two games under Darren Fletcher, then seemingly the third-choice striker. Yet this became the best moment of his United career. “Scoring the winner is unbelievable,” he said. “I’ve been dreaming about that and dreaming that I can do that.”
And when he struck, Old Trafford was transported back; to the place Carrick remembered from his playing days. “It’s the best feeling,” he said. “Some of the best moments here that I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of [were] when you get a moment of elation and excitement like that. There’s no better place, in front of the Stretford End, and it ends up meaning a bit more. People leave here with more than just ‘United win today’. And it puts layers on top of that and the connection and the feeling, the emotion. It’s why we all love it so much.”
So the Carrick renaissance continued. United are back up to fourth and, after three games, he has already equalled the longest winning run that the sacked Ruben Amorim managed. If that illustrates that this group of players always had the potential to do better, Carrick has proved it with his immediate impact. “There is huge talent, I think they have shown that,” he said.
That talent is now being used correctly. Shifting Bruno Fernandes back into the No 10 role may have been the most obvious of masterstrokes, but it reaped another dividend. The captain has provided an assist in each game since Amorim’s departure. He got two against Fulham, including a wonderful dummy before his low cross for Sesko’s goal. “A big assist,” said his fellow Portuguese, Fulham manager Marco Silva.
There were other contributors. This was about a man who has come back, and one who is going. Casemiro delivered a goal and an assist. His substitution perhaps afforded Fulham a way back into the game: United were 2-0 up then, but with Manuel Ugarte an inadequate replacement, Fulham conjured a terrific comeback which nevertheless produced no points.
Their goals were both memorable. Raul Jimenez’s penalty was a work of art, lifted into the roof of the net. Then Fulham’s record signing struck in spectacular fashion, Kevin unleashing a curling, dipping shot from an acute angle. It was quite a way to open his Premier League account. It prompted Sesko’s immediate response.
He was the hero. For Fulham, the villain was referee John Brooks, though he was right to award the visitors’ spot kick, with Harry Maguire clattering into Jimenez even as Senne Lammens saved the Mexican’s shot; the excellent goalkeeper had no chance with the spot kick. Brooks was correct, too, to disallow a goal by the offside Jorge Cuenca.
For Silva, though, Brooks had set the tone for the game. “The story of the game started with a horrendous, terrible decision from John Brooks with the penalty he gave,” he said. Brooks pointed to the spot for Cuenca’s challenge on Matheus Cunha; it was redesignated a free kick, for the defender’s shirt pull outside the box.
Silva accused the officials of changing their story. “It was a bad, bad, bad decision by John Brooks,” he added. “The pull after they found was three or four seconds before. Everyone in the stadium felt the penalty was given for the tackle, and after, VAR come with a completely different decision.”
The outcome was nevertheless the same. United have been set-piece specialists this season, and their 14th dead-ball goal came when Casemiro headed in Fernandes’s free kick.
The second goal was made in Brazil but a consequence of Carrick’s sure decision-making. Minus the injured Patrick Dorgu, a scorer in his first outings in charge, he faced a choice of who to select on the left wing. He opted for Cunha and, after Casemiro’s no-look pass, he unleashed an explosive finish.
At that stage, it might have been a regulation win. Fulham had other ideas. United had fallibilities. Kevin levelled, but Carrick was conscious there were still eight minutes to go.
“The character once we had that big setback was probably the most pleasing thing,” Carrick said. “We can play better at times but I can’t fault the spirit, it has taken us through.”
As he said, “it’s not always the easiest way”. But then that sometimes was the United way in his own playing days.
And amid the sepia-tinted excitement, Carrick’s employers may be particularly grateful for his swift start. A pre-match march to protest against the owners drew between 500 and 600 fans. But the feelgood factor has been restored inside at Old Trafford. Especially when it ended with an injury-time winner in their truest tradition.
Lucy Letby’s parents blast Netflix doc for ‘invading their privacy’
Lucy Letby’s parents have blasted a new documentary as a “complete invasion of privacy” for using footage of the former nurse being arrested in her pyjamas at their home.
In their first public statement, Susan and John Letby also claimed the senior investigating officer in the case against their daughter “seemed to have a deep hatred” of them.
The ex-neonatal nurse is the most prolific child serial killer in Britain, having been convicted of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016.
However there have been mounting calls for a retrial as the 36-year-old’s legal team has raised major questions about the safety of her convictions.
A trailer for The Investigation of Lucy Letby, due to be aired on Netflix on Wednesday, shows previously unreleased footage of officers arriving at Letby’s family home to arrest her.
Letby was arrested three times. On the first occasion, in July 2018, she was led out of her home wearing a blue tracksuit.
However, on this occasion, in 2019, they are seen entering her bedroom, where Letby sits up in bed looking confused, before officers tell her she is being arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
She is heard sounding emotional and telling others “don’t look, just go in” as she is led outside by officers in her dressing gown.
Letby’s parents have said they will not watch the documentary and fear it will turn their home into a “tourist attraction”.
They told The Sunday Times: “The previous programmes made about Lucy, including Panorama and the almost nightly news showing her being brought out handcuffed in a blue tracksuit are heartbreaking for us.
“However, this Netflix documentary is on another level. We had no idea they were using footage in our house. We will not watch it; it would likely kill us if we did.
“We have, however, stumbled on pictures of her being arrested in her bedroom in our house and her saying goodbye to one of her beloved cats which are even more distressing. Heaven knows how much more they have to show.
“All this taking place in the home where we have lived for 40 years. It is in a small cul-de-sac in a small town where everyone knows everyone. It is a complete invasion of privacy of which we would have known nothing if Lucy’s barrister had not told us.”
They added: “What we go through every day is nothing to what Lucy goes through but we still have to live here. Will our house become a tourist attraction like Lucy’s in Chester? We will find out the following day when everything is plastered over the papers and the news will be full of it.”
During her trial Letby claimed she had been taken to the police station in her pyjamas. However, this was disputed by the prosecution, who accused her of trying to garner sympathy with the jury.
Dame Esther Rantzen this week joined calls for the evidence against Letby to be re-examined.
Following the new footage, Dame Esther, who was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer in 2023, said: “This week a photograph was published of Lucy Letby being arrested when she was in her bedroom. But when she described being taken to a police station in her pyjamas, the prosecution alleged that this was untrue and that she had invented this detail in order to create sympathy for herself. But the prosecution was wrong. It was not an invention. It was the truth.”
Meanwhile senior Tory MP Sir David Davis, who has called for Letby to be retried, told Times Radio her original trial was an “exercise in confirmatory bias”.
The documentary comes after it was announced the child serial killer will face no further criminal charges over baby deaths and collapses at two hospitals where she worked.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had reviewed evidence following a 2025 investigation into allegations of murder and attempted murder against nine children, but concluded that “the evidential test was not met in any of those cases”.
In a rare step, Cheshire Constabulary spoke out publicly against the decision, which it said was “not the outcome that we had anticipated throughout our investigation”.
Letby has always maintained her innocence. Her case is currently being examined by the Criminal Cases Review Commission after her legal team compiled reports from a team of leading neonatologists, who concluded no crimes were committed.
Netflix and Cheshire Police have been contacted for comment. The Investigation of Lucy Letby is scheduled for release on Netflix on 4 February.
12 miners killed in Russian strike on bus after peace talks delayed
A Russian drone strike has killed 12 people after it hit a bus carrying mineworkers in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Sunday.
It came just hours after Volodymyr Zelensky announced that a new round of US-brokered peace talks between Ukraine and Russia had been delayed until next week.
At least another seven mineworkers who were returning from their shift were injured in the attack, which also sparked a fire that was later put out.
Energy firm DTEK, which owned the bus, said that Russian forces had carried out “a large-scale terrorist attack on DTEK mines in the Dnipropetrovsk region”.
“The epicentre of one of the attacks was a company bus transporting miners from the enterprise after a shift in the Dnipropetrovsk region,” the company said.
President Zelensky condemned the strikes on social media on Sunday night.
Earlier in the day, he announced that the next trilateral discussions will happen on 4 and 5 February in Abu Dhabi.
“Ukraine is ready for a substantive discussion, and we are interested in ensuring that the outcome brings us closer to a real and dignified end to the war,” he said.
Ukraine to receive two lorries worth of spuds in Berlin potato dump
Ukraine is receiving two lorries worth of potatoes after Berlin experienced a bumper harvest year with its biggest crop in more than two decades.
The phenomenon has inspired a potato dump in Berlin, as farmers, not wanting their produce to go to waste, have given away their potatoes away to soup kitchens, schools, churches, and the public.
Two lorries worth of spuds have also been delivered to Ukraine.
It comes as the country experiences a brutal winter, with temperatures in some areas dropping to -30C.
Russia has been repeatedly targeting Ukraine’s energy grid, leaving thousands of Ukrainians without power or food.
Analysis: Trump should be backing Ukraine war, not Iran
World affairs editor Sam Kiley writes: Chaotic, unprincipled and dangerously effective, Donald Trump’s latest foreign policy move in Ukraine may provide a brief respite from Russian bombing in plunging temperatures that have left civilians freezing in their homes.
The danger lies in what he expects to get in return for securing a week-long agreement from Vladimir Putin to hold off on tormenting Ukraine. The concession he will, no doubt, demand is that Kyiv give in to the Kremlin’s demands to hand over his most potent defensive lines and fortress cities without a shot being fired in return for a longer “ceasefire”.
Trump has been backing the wrong side in Ukraine, and may soon launch a war in Iran that he cannot control.
Click here for Sam’s full analysis
Ukraine peace deal must put people before land, warns key Zelensky ally
A key political ally of Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine has called for a peace deal which prioritises people over land ahead of a major conference in the war torn country on Thursday.
Vitaliy Kim, governor of the Mykolaiv Oblast region in Ukraine, is an emerging name in Ukrainian politics and spoke to The Independent as other governors and mayors get together to discuss where the peace line needs to be drawn in the war with Russia.
Mr Kim headed the Mykolaiv branch of Zelensky’s Servant of the People party during the 2019 elections and was appointed by the Ukrainian president to be regional governor in November 2020.
His significant intervention ahead of Frontline Cities and Communities Forum 2026, where governors and mayors will try to agree what they want from a peace settlement, underlines a willingness to move away from border arguments to security guarantees.
Click here for the full story.
Russia launched 980 drones in the last week, Zelensky says
Russia is attempting to disrupt logistics and connectivity between cities and communities through its drone, bomb and missile attacks, President Zelensky said on Sunday.
”Over the past week, Russia has used more than 980 attack drones, nearly 1,100 guided aerial bombs, and two missiles against Ukraine,” he wrote on X.
“We are recording Russian attempts to destroy logistics and connectivity between cities and communities. That is precisely why the need to protect the sky persists.”
Next trilateral talks due within days
A new round of US-brokered trilateral talks between Ukraine and Russia will take place in Abu Dhabi on February 4 and 5, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, adding that Kyiv was ready for a “substantive discussion”.
“Our negotiating team has just delivered a report. The dates for the next trilateral meetings have been set – February 4 and 5 in Abu Dhabi,” he wrote on X.
”Ukraine is ready for a substantive discussion, and we are interested in ensuring that the outcome brings us closer to a real and dignified end to the war.”
Moscow ‘still hasn’t seen Trump’s nuclear subs’
Trump in August said he had ordered two US nuclear submarines to move closer to Russia in response to what he called “highly provocative” comments from Medvedev about the risk of war after what appeared to be an ultimatum from Trump.
“We still have not found them,” Medvedev said of the U.S. submarines.
After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Medvedev has repeatedly hurled invective at Kyiv and Western powers while warning of the risks of an escalation of the war towards a nuclear “apocalypse”.
Medvedev said Russia would “soon” win military victory in the Ukraine war but the key thing was to prevent any further conflict, adding: “I would like this to happen as soon as possible.”
‘No such thing as a former businessman – or KGB agent’
President Vladimir Putin remains the final voice on Russian policy, though Medvedev, an arch-hawk who has repeatedly goaded Trump on social media, gives a sense of hardliners’ thinking within the Russian elite, according to foreign diplomats.
“Trump wants to go down in history as a peacemaker – and he is really trying,” Medvedev said.
“He is really trying to do that. And that is why contacts with Americans have become much more productive.”
Medvedev said the key to understanding Trump was his business background, quipping that there was no such thing as a former businessman – a play on an old Russian joke that there is no such thing as a former KGB agent.
Russia praises ‘peacemaker’ Trump
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, praised US President Donald Trump as an effective leader who was seeking peace.
But, he added, Moscow had seen no trace of nuclear submarines Trump said he moved to Russian shores.
Trump, who has said he wants to be remembered as a “peacemaker” president, has repeatedly said that a peace deal to end the Ukraine war is close, and a new round of U.-Russian-Ukrainian talks is scheduled for this week in Abu Dhabi.
Asked if Trump was positive or negative for Russia and about unproven speculation that Trump was some sort of Russian agent, Medvedev said the American people had chosen Trump and that Moscow respected that decision.
“He is an emotional person, but on the other hand, the chaos that is commonly referred to, which is created by his activities, is not entirely true,” he said.
“It is obvious that behind this lies a completely conscious and competent line.”
Ukraine working on Starlink system
Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Kyiv was developing a system that would allow only authorised Starlink terminals to work on Ukrainian territory.
“Ukraine, together with @Starlink, has already taken the first steps that delivered rapid results in countering Russian drones,” he wrote on X.
“The next step is implementing a system that will allow only authorized terminals to operate on the territory of Ukraine.”
In a social media post in February 2024, SpaceX said it does not sell or ship Starlink to Russia, and “does not do business of any kind with the Russian Government or its military”.
Musk turned on Starlink service over Ukraine in 2022 after Kyiv pleaded for help in the first days following Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Musk says efforts to stop unauthorized Russian use of Starlink has worked
Elon Musk said on Sunday moves by his SpaceX company to stop the ‘unauthorized’ use by Russia of its internet system Starlink seemed to have worked.
Kyiv’s military relies on tens of thousands of satellite-based Starlink internet connections for battlefield communication and for piloting some drone missions, but said this week it had found Starlink terminals on long-range drones used in Russian attacks.
Ukraine said it was working with SpaceX to stop Russia from guiding drones with Starlink.
“Looks like the steps we took to stop the unauthorized use of Starlink by Russia have worked. Let us know if more needs to be done,” SpaceX CEO Musk said on X.
The smart moment to get ahead of your business budget
For businesses large and small, late January is when reality bites. For some, it’s the first chance to take a breath after the festive rush and early January sales. For others, it’s an opportunity to look at things afresh after time away from the office. Either way, it’s the moment when plans need to move off the page and into practice.
In a challenging business environment, budgets must work harder, workflows need to be optimised and spending requires clear oversight. This is where Amazon Business can make a tangible difference: helping teams start the year organised, keep costs under control and simplify everyday purchasing across essential business categories.
Stock Up and Save now: Business Savings Event Ends February 4
The Business Savings Event is your opportunity to secure exceptional deals and special prices on everything your business needs. Whether you’re stocking up on office essentials, upgrading equipment, or planning ahead for the quarter, now is the time to take advantage of significant savings across thousands of products. Visit the Business Savings Event page today and discover how much you can save before February 4.
Buy smarter, stay stocked
Feeling organised starts with knowing you have what you need. Amazon Business supports this by offering bulk buying options that help improve budget efficiency. From pallet-sized orders of cleaning products to everyday office supplies, buying in volume ensures businesses are paying the best possible price.
Registered Amazon Business customers also benefit from exclusive business-only pricing, alongside the fast and flexible delivery Amazon is known for. In some circumstances, same-day delivery is available, allowing businesses to stay agile and responsive without overstocking.
One platform, less paperwork
Switching to Amazon Business can also significantly reduce administrative burden. Rather than sourcing cleaning supplies from one provider, office technology from another and stationery from a third, Amazon Business acts as a one-stop shop for procurement.
This streamlined approach frees up valuable time, allowing business owners and teams to focus on delivering quality products and services, rather than managing multiple suppliers and invoices.
Control for leaders, autonomy for teams
Amazon Business combines the familiar Amazon interface with professional-grade tools designed specifically for organisations. Team members can order what they need quickly and intuitively – even without purchasing experience – all through a single, centralised account.
At the same time, business leaders retain full oversight. Multi-user accounts include built-in controls that define what different users can buy, ensuring transparency and compliance. Instead of juggling multiple supplier accounts, businesses gain instant insight into purchasing behaviour, helping to reduce rogue spend and keep budgets on track.
The platform’s analytics tools also enable deeper trend analysis, supporting smarter decision-making now and more effective planning for the future. Amazon Business integrates with more than 300 e-procurement and expense management systems, including Coupa, Concur Expense and SAP Ariba, and makes it easy to manage delivery preferences across multiple locations within a single workflow.
From fitting seamlessly into existing systems to keeping spending accountable, Amazon Business helps companies start the year as they mean to go on: with smarter, simpler and more business-focused buying.
Sign up for a free Amazon Business account to streamline your purchasing and take advantage of quantity discounts.
Iran-Trump latest: President says Tehran is ‘seriously talking’ to US
Donald Trump has said that Iran wants to make a deal as the US weighs strikes and ramps up its military presence in the region in an effort to pressure the country into negotiating.
While both sides have signalled that they are ready to resume talks, the US President has still declined to say if he has made his “final decision” on whether or not he will use force against Iran.
He has repeatedly threatened military intervention, urging Tehran to stop killing protestors in its deadly crackdown and agree to a deal without nuclear weapons.
Speaking to reporters, the US President said: “Hopefully we’ll make a deal. If we do make a deal, that’s good. If we don’t make a deal, we’ll see what happens.”
The ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Sunday that any US attack would result in a “regional war” in the Middle East.
“We are not the ones who start a war and we do not want to attack any country,” he said. “But if America attacks or harms Iran the Iranian nation will deliver a strong blow and any war started by America will spread across the region.”
Watch: ‘Human chain’ on Golden Gate Bridge calls for change in iran
‘We’ll find out’: Trump responds to Khamenei claims that US attack would spark regional conflict
Donald Trump has responded to comments from Iran’s leader that a US strike could cause a regional war, saying that if a deal wasn’t reached “we’ll find out whether or not he was right”.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned earlier on Sunday that any US attack would result in a “regional war” in the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters in response to the comments, President Trump said: “We have the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there.
“Hopefully we’ll make a deal. If we don’t make a deal, then we’ll find out whether or not he was right.”
Editorial: Donald Trump must proceed with caution on Iran
According to Donald Trump, Iran does “want to do a deal” which would, in theory, preserve the power of the present regime in return for ending its nuclear weapons programme. On the face of it, that is an offer that the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, cannot refuse.
It is an offer that he cannot refuse, in the old mafiosi sense, because the overwhelming firepower available to the United States could destroy the current Iranian state. It is also an offer that, rationally, it would be wise for the regime to accept for the basic purposes of self-preservation.
After all, despite the president’s earlier vocal support for the Iranian protesters and promise that “help is coming”, the only tangible effect of US policy has been to deter the mass hangings of anti-regime Iranians arrested in the recent disturbances.
Read here:
Trump must proceed with caution on Iran
Iran ‘confident’ on reaching a deal with the US
Iran’s foreign minister said he was “confident that we can achieve a deal” with the US on Tehran’s nuclear weapons program.
Speaking to CNN Sunday, Abbas Araghchi said there were parties wanting to drag Donald Trump in to a war for their own gain.
He said a meaningful negotiation between the two countries should be based on trust.
“Unfortunately, we have lost our trust [in] the US as a negotiating partner,” he said, adding that the exchange of messages through mediating countries was still able to facilitate “fruitful” talks.
“It is obvious to us that there are certain elements, certain parties, that want to drag President Trump into this war for their own benefits and I think President Trump is wise enough to make the correct decision.”
Iran says it now considers all EU militaries to be terrorist groups
Iran’s parliament speaker said today that the Islamic Republic now considers all European Union militaries to be terrorist groups.
The speaker’s comments come after Europe declared Tehran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard a terror group over its deadly crackdown on nationwide protests.
“By seeking to strike at the (Guard), which itself has been the greatest barrier to the spread of terrorism to Europe, Europeans have in fact shot themselves in the foot and, once again through blind obedience to the Americans, decided against the interests of their own people,” the speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said.
Confirmed death toll nears 7,000 in deadly crackdown
The total number of confirmed deaths in Iran’s deadly crackdown has hit 6,713, while 17,091 cases are under investigation, according to US-based HRANA rights group.
Of those confirmed dead, 137 were under 18. Another 6,305 were reported as “protesters”, 214 were members of government-affiliated forces and 57 were “civilian, non-protesters”.
The number of injured civilians stands at 11,021, with 84 student arrests, 295 cases of forced confessions, and 11,028 summonses reported.
Watch: Omid Djalili: Iranians will fight to the very end against this regime
Oscar-nominated screenwriter arrested in Tehran
Mehdi Mahmoudian, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter, has been arrested in Tehran just days after he and 16 others signed a statement condemning Islamic Republic leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the regime’s violent crackdown.
Mr Mahmoudian who wrote Iranian drama “It Was Just an Accident” was arrested on Saturday, according to his representatives. No details on the charges against him were available.
Two other signatories, Vida Rabbani and Abdullah Momeni, were also arrested.
Jafar Panahi, the prize-winning director of the film, said: “Mehdi Mahmoudian is not just a human-rights activist and a prisoner of conscience; he is a witness, a listener, and a rare moral presence — a presence whose absence is immediately felt, both inside prison walls and beyond them.”
The potential outcomes if Trump strikes Iran
Donald Trump has renewed his threat of military action against Iran, urging the Islamic Republic to make a ‘deal’ or face the consequences with a “massive armada” already en route to the region.
The US president said on Wednesday that time was running out for Tehran to avoid a repeat of last summer’s strikes against the country’s nuclear facilities, warning this time would be “far worse”.
The U.S. has been seeking a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear programme even after claiming to have totally destroyed it in a bombing campaign last June. However, officials fear the programme was not destroyed and that the regime has been reconstituting it. Iran denies trying to make a bomb, but says it is open to talks.
The decision to move a carrier strike group to the region gives Trump a wider range of options than he had earlier this month, when he vowed to come to the rescue of anti-government protesters being brutally killed and targeted by the regime.
But U.S. bases and partners in the region will be fearing an Iranian retaliation after regime officials threatened an ‘unprecedented’ response if provoked. The Independent looks at what is likely to happen next in Iran.
James C. Reynolds reports:
The potential outcomes if Trump strikes Iran
Khamenei says clashes with the US would blow up into regional conflict
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that if the U.S. attacked Iran, it would become a regional conflict, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.
“America should know that if it starts a war, this time it will be a regional war. These threats are nothing new. In the past as well, American officials repeatedly talked about war and said that all options were on the table including war.”
He added: “We are not the ones who start a war and we do not want to attack any country, but if America attacks or harms Iran the Iranian nation will deliver a strong blow and any war started by America will spread across the region.”
Swiss bar fire death toll rises to 41 as 18-year-old dies one month on
A teenager who was caught up in a deadly bar fire in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana has died, bringing the death toll to 41.
The 18-year-old victim passed away in hospital in Zurich on 31 January, a month after the New Year’s Eve disaster, according to the Wallis canton’s public prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud.
Pilloud said her office, which is investigating the tragedy, would release no further information at this stage.
News of the latest death comes a month after sparkling candles on champagne bottles are thought to have sparked the deadly blaze in Crans-Montana, injuring 116 revellers celebrating New Year’s Eve.
Many teenagers were caught in the inferno after flames tore through Le Constellation bar, where the drinking age is 16.
Those killed in the disaster were aged 14 to 39, with only four aged over 24. Many of those injured are still being treated in hospital for severe burns.
Switzerland’s Federal Office for Civil Protection told the AFP news agency on Friday that 44 patients were being treated abroad. They included 18 in France, 12 in Italy, eight in Germany and six in Belgium.
A further 37 patients were still in Swiss hospitals as of Monday, according to the Wallis health ministry.
Initial findings from an investigation suggest the fire began as sparklers attached to champagne bottles ignited soundproof foam that lined the ceiling of the bar’s basement.
Authorities have acknowledged that the bar had not undergone safety checks for five years.
Swiss prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into the bar owners – French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti – on suspicion of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and causing a fire by negligence.
Criminal proceedings have also been brought against the municipality’s head of public safety and a former council fire safety inspector.
A former British schoolgirl was previously named among those killed in the blaze.
Charlotte Niddam, who previously attended Immanuel College, a private Jewish school in Hertfordshire, celebrating the New Year in the ski-resort when the fire broke out in the packed bar at around 1.30am on 1 January.
Survivors, families and mourners gathered in nearby Martigny for an emotional memorial to those killed on 10 January.