THE US made preparations for a military strike against Iran in retaliation for the downing of a surveillance drone but the operation was abruptly called off with just hours to go, a US official has said.
The targets on Thursday night would have included radars and missile batteries, the official said.
The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump had approved the strikes but then called them off.
Trump tweeted on Friday: “We were cocked and loaded to retaliate last night on three different sight when I asked how many will die. ‘150 people, sir’ was the answer... 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it.”
The swift reversal was a stark reminder of the serious risk of military conflict between US and Iranian forces as the Trump administration combines a “maximum pressure” campaign of economic sanctions with a build-up of American forces in the region.
As tensions have mounted in recent weeks, there have been growing fears that either side could make a dire miscalculation that leads to war.
SEVERAL hundred mainly student protesters have gathered outside Hong Kong government offices, with some blocking traffic on a major road and others occupying the lobby of a government tax office.
The new protest actions came after a deadline passed for the government to meet demands related to controversial extradition legislation that many see as eroding the territory’s judicial independence. Police called for demonstrators to disperse but have not taken firm action to remove them.
“I now appeal to the members of the public to leave as soon as possible,” police spokeswoman Yolanda Yu said at a news conference.
Outside, activist Joshua Wong called on police to answer demands over heavy-handed tactics used during a mass protest on June 12, including the firing of 150 rounds of tear gas and the beating of unarmed protesters by police with truncheons.
“We ... urge police to apologise to the people” over the use of such tactics and their definition of the gathering as a riot, Wong said.
Firefighters, police and a veterinary clinic combined forces to rescue a red squirrel that had got its head stuck in a manhole cover in the German city of Dortmund.
When rescuers arrived, they spotted the squirrel’s head poking out of a hole in the cover. Initial attempts to free the animal were unsuccessful, so the entire manhole cover was removed and taken to a veterinary clinic, while police were called in to guard the open sewer. Vets used anaesthetic to calm the squirrel and then freed the animal.
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