pope

Pope Leo speaks out against tyranny, exploitation on Angola visit

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • "The Israeli enemy is repeating its house detonating operations in the town of Bint Jbeil," Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said, also reporting demolitions in other border towns where Israeli troops are present.
  • The latest developments in the Middle East war: - Iran's death toll - Iran's state-run Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs was quoted by the ISNA news agency as saying Saturday that the war with the United States and Israel had killed 3,468 people in the Islamic republic. 
  • "The Israeli enemy is repeating its house detonating operations in the town of Bint Jbeil," Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said, also reporting demolitions in other border towns where Israeli troops are present.
The latest developments in the Middle East war:

Iran's death toll

Iran's state-run Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs was quoted by the ISNA news agency as saying Saturday that the war with the United States and Israel had killed 3,468 people in the Islamic republic. 

UN chief condemns peacekeeper death

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned on Saturday an attack on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon that left a French soldier dead and three wounded. 
France blamed the attack on Hezbollah and Guterres said, in a statement issued by his spokesman, that an initial assessment by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was that it was carried out by the Iranian-backed group.

Israel demolishes buildings in south Lebanon

Israeli forces on Saturday carried out demolitions in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil -- about five kilometers from the border -- the scene of intense fighting with Hezbollah prior to the recently agreed 10-day truce, Lebanese state media reported. 
"The Israeli enemy is repeating its house detonating operations in the town of Bint Jbeil," Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said, also reporting demolitions in other border towns where Israeli troops are present.

Iran navy warning

"We warn that no ship, of any kind, should leave its anchorage in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Any attempt to approach the Strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the offending vessel will be targeted," the navy of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a satement on its official Sepah News website.  

No one-sided truce

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the ongoing 10-day truce with Israel cannot be one-sided, vowing that his fighters would respond to Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
"Because we do not trust this enemy, the resistance fighters will remain in the field with their hands on the trigger, and they will respond to violations accordingly," Qassem said in a statement read out on TV.
"There is no ceasefire from the side of the resistance only, it must be from both sides."

Israel hits Lebanon

The Israeli military said its air force had eliminated a "terrorist cell" operating near its troops in southern Lebanon, despite the ceasefire there.
"The IDF eliminated a terrorist cell operating in proximity to IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon, in the area of the forward defence line dedicated to preventing imminent threats to Israel's northern communities," it said, without specifying how many suspected militants were killed.

Hezbollah denies peacekeepers attack

Hezbollah denied it was involved in an attack on United Nations peacekeepers (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon, after France accused the group of being behind the incident that left a French soldier dead and three wounded, two seriously.
"Hezbollah denies any connection to the incident that occurred with UNIFIL forces in the Ghandouriyeh-Bint Jbeil area, and calls for caution in making judgements and assigning responsibilities regarding the incident pending the Lebanese army's investigations to determine the full circumstances of the incident," the group said.

Iran reviewing 'new proposals'

Iran's top national security body said that the country was reviewing "new proposals" received from the United States, even as it warned that its negotiators would cut no compromises with Washington.
"New proposals have been put forward by the Americans, which the Islamic Republic of Iran is currently reviewing and has not yet responded to," the Supreme National Security Council said in a statement.

Trump warns against 'blackmail'

US President Donald Trump warned Iran not to "blackmail" Washington with the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, after Tehran declared the strategic waterway once again closed.
"We're talking to them. They wanted to close up the strait again -- you know, as they've been doing for years -- and they can't blackmail us," Trump said at a White House event.
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US

France blames Hezbollah for French peacekeeper's death in Lebanon

  • But Hezbollah -- which is strongly opposed to the planned talks with Israel -- denied involvement in the attack that killed the French peacekeeper, identified as staff sergeant Florian Montorio.
  • A French soldier was killed and three others wounded in an ambush Saturday on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon that French President Emmanuel Macron blamed on Hezbollah, an accusation the group has denied.
  • But Hezbollah -- which is strongly opposed to the planned talks with Israel -- denied involvement in the attack that killed the French peacekeeper, identified as staff sergeant Florian Montorio.
A French soldier was killed and three others wounded in an ambush Saturday on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon that French President Emmanuel Macron blamed on Hezbollah, an accusation the group has denied.
The attack follows an agreement between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday for a 10-day ceasefire to negotiate an end to six weeks of fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed group.
"Everything points to Hezbollah being responsible for this attack," Macron said on X, urging Lebanese authorities to arrest the perpetrators.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack in a statement and said an initial assessment by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) found it was carried out by the Iranian-backed group.
But Hezbollah -- which is strongly opposed to the planned talks with Israel -- denied involvement in the attack that killed the French peacekeeper, identified as staff sergeant Florian Montorio.
"Hezbollah denies any connection to the incident that occurred with UNIFIL forces in the Ghandouriyeh-Bint Jbeil area," it said in a statement.
The group urged "caution in making judgements and assigning responsibilities" pending the results of the Lebanese army's investigation into the incident.
The fighting in Lebanon -- one of the fronts in the Middle East war -- has seen UNIFIL deployed there repeatedly targeted, by both Israeli and Hezbollah forces.
Montorio, was caught in an "ambush" as his unit headed to a UNIFIL outpost cut off by fighting and he died from a "direct gunshot", France's armed forces minister Catherine Vautrin said on X.
He is the second French soldier to die since the start of the war in the Middle East, after an Iranian-designed drone killed Arnaud Frion last month in Iraq's Kurdistan region. 

Possible 'war crimes'

His commanding officer, Colonel Jeremy Akil, paid tribute to "an exceptional soldier" who had served in various conflict zones since enlisting in 2007. 
The 40-year-old father of two daughters was "at the end of his military career" and was due to return to civilian life within months, Akil added.
His death came as Lebanon is eyeing the first direct negotiations with Israel in decades, a move Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun insisted was not a "concession" in an apparent rebuttal of Hezbollah criticism.
But senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qamati on Saturday said that his group was "not concerned with the negotiations being conducted by the state", saying they were "a failure, weak, defeated... and submissive negotiations".
Aoun condemned the attack and pledged to bring those responsible to justice, while Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he had ordered an investigation.
UNIFIL, in an online statement, said the peacekeepers "came under small-arms fire from non-state-actors" as they were "clearing explosive ordnance along a road in the village of Ghanduriyah" to get to the outpost.
"Tragically, one peacekeeper succumbed to his injuries and three others were injured, two of them seriously," it said, adding that it had launched its own investigation into what "may amount to war crimes".
The force patrols in south Lebanon near the Israeli border, where Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting since last month after the Iran-backed militant group drew Lebanon into the Middle East war with rocket fire at Israel in support of its backer Iran.
Three Indonesian peacekeepers were killed last month, with a preliminary UN investigation finding one was killed by Israeli tank fire, while the two others were killed by an improvised explosive device likely planted by Hezbollah.
Other UNIFIL peacekeepers have also been wounded since the war erupted, and in April, Israeli soldiers destroyed surveillance cameras in UNIFIL's headquarters, the peacekeeping body said.
Last week, an Israeli tank twice rammed peacekeeping vehicles, causing damage but no injuries, according to UNIFIL.
UN peacekeepers have served as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel for decades, but their mandate concludes at the end of this year.
burs/sbk/jxb

US

Iran closes Hormuz Strait again, as Trump warns against 'blackmail'

BY BY AFP TEAMS IN TEHRAN, WASHINGTON, DUBAI, JERUSALEM AND BEIRUT

  • Trump had previously said the two sides were "very close" to striking a deal, but following Iran's announcement on Saturday, he insisted Tehran "can't blackmail us", even as he maintained communications were ongoing.
  • Iran's military declared the Strait of Hormuz closed again on Saturday, prompting ships to abandon attempts to transit and President Donald Trump to warn Tehran against trying to "blackmail" the United States.
  • Trump had previously said the two sides were "very close" to striking a deal, but following Iran's announcement on Saturday, he insisted Tehran "can't blackmail us", even as he maintained communications were ongoing.
Iran's military declared the Strait of Hormuz closed again on Saturday, prompting ships to abandon attempts to transit and President Donald Trump to warn Tehran against trying to "blackmail" the United States.
On Friday, Tehran had declared the strait, which usually carries a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas, open after a ceasefire was agreed in Israel's war with Iran's ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
This prompted elation in global markets and sent oil prices plunging, but with Trump insisting that a US naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue until a deal to end the wider war was concluded, Tehran said it was shuttering the strait once more late Saturday morning.
Iran's central military command said that, in response to the US blockade, Hormuz was again "under strict management and control of the armed forces". The powerful Revolutionary Guards warned that any effort to cross "will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the offending vessel will be targeted".
Trump had previously said the two sides were "very close" to striking a deal, but following Iran's announcement on Saturday, he insisted Tehran "can't blackmail us", even as he maintained communications were ongoing.
"We'll be talking about Iran later. We have very good conversations going on," he added, accusing Tehran of getting "a little cute" with its recent moves.
Iran's top national security body said during a visit by the military chief of mediator Pakistan that "new proposals have been put forward by the Americans, which the Islamic Republic of Iran is currently reviewing and has not yet responded to".
It went on to say, however, that Iran's negotiating delegation would not offer "even the slightest compromise, retreat or leniency" in talks with Washington.

Ships threatened

A handful of oil and gas tankers crossed the Strait of Hormuz early Saturday during the brief reopening, tracking data showed, but others retreated and tracking platforms showed hardly any vessels crossing the waterway by the late afternoon.
A UK maritime security agency said Iran's Revolutionary Guards fired at one tanker, while security intelligence firm Vanguard Tech reported the force had threatened to "destroy" an empty cruise ship that was fleeing the Gulf.
In a third incident, the UK agency said it received a report of a vessel in the same area "being hit by an unknown projectile which caused damage" to shipping containers but no fire.
New Delhi later summoned the Iranian ambassador to lodge a protest over a "shooting incident" involving two Indian-flagged ships in the strait, its foreign ministry said.
Speaking at a diplomatic forum in Turkey, Iranian deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said the "Americans cannot impose their will over Iran" with a siege, and suggested the blockade was a violation of the ceasefire that merited "repercussions".
Meanwhile, in a written message, Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has yet to be seen since taking power, said Iran's navy "stands ready" to defeat the United States.

Four days left

There are just four days remaining before the end of the two-week ceasefire in the US-Israel war on Iran, launched on February 28.
Nevertheless, Trump has appeared convinced that a deal could be finished shortly, issuing a stream of upbeat social media posts including ones praising mediator Pakistan.
Egypt, which has also been involved in diplomatic efforts, appeared similarly optimistic on Saturday, with Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty saying Cairo and Islamabad hoped to secure a final agreement "in the coming days". 
He was speaking at the same event in Antalya as Khatibzadeh, who insisted no date had been set for the next round of talks, though Tehran was "very much committed to diplomacy".
The Middle East war began with a massive wave of US-Israeli surprise attacks on Iran, despite Washington and Tehran being engaged in negotiations at the time.
The conflict rapidly spread across the region, with Iran targeting US interests in the Gulf and Hezbollah dragging Lebanon into the conflict by launching rockets at Israel. 
In a sign that the two-week ceasefire remained stable, Iran's civil aviation agency declared its airspace was open again, with international flights able to transit Iran via the east of the country.
Two major sticking points in the peace talks -- Iran's stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium and the future of the Strait of Hormuz -- appeared up in the air.
Trump declared Friday that Iran had agreed to hand over its 440 or so kilogrammes of enriched uranium, saying: "We're going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators."
But Iran's foreign ministry had said just hours before that its stockpile, thought to be buried deep under rubble by US bombing in last June's 12-day war, was "not going to be transferred anywhere", and that surrendering it "to the US has never been raised in negotiations". 
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shooting

At least 6 killed after gunman opens fire in Ukrainian capital

BY BARBARA WOJAZER

  • "He was holding hostages and, unfortunately, killed one of them.
  • Six people were killed in Kyiv on Saturday after a gunman opened fire and took hostages at a supermarket in the Ukrainian capital before being killed during an arrest attempt, officials said.
  • "He was holding hostages and, unfortunately, killed one of them.
Six people were killed in Kyiv on Saturday after a gunman opened fire and took hostages at a supermarket in the Ukrainian capital before being killed during an arrest attempt, officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that at least 14 people were hospitalised with wounds and trauma after the shooting and hostage-taking, which took place in a residential district in the city's south.
"He was holding hostages and, unfortunately, killed one of them. He killed four people right on the street. Another woman died in the hospital from severe injuries," Zelensky said on social media, adding that four hostages from the supermarket "have been rescued".
"The attacker has been eliminated," he said, offering condolences to the victims' families.
An AFP reporter saw the supermarket -- which had blood stains on its shop window -- cordoned off by a heavy security presence, with officers wearing bulletproof vests and crime investigators arriving at the scene.
An employee of the supermarket, Tetyana, told AFP that she had heard sounds "in the store, like champagne being popped or balloons bursting several times. Then the customers started shouting, 'Run!'".
"There's a spot where you can hide behind the refrigerators, and we ran there. I heard a man moaning," she recounted, her voice trembling.
Footage posted by the UNIAN news agency, which AFP was unable to immediately verify, showed a man carrying a gun and shooting at a person from close range near a block of flats.
The assailant's motive was not immediately known.

40-minute standoff

Zelensky urged "a swift investigation" into the shooting and said that all the circumstances of the incident were being established.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said the standoff between the assailant and police negotiators at the supermarket lasted around 40 minutes.
"We tried to persuade him. Realising that there was likely an injured person inside, we offered to bring in tourniquets to stop the bleeding. But he didn't respond," Klymenko told reporters at the scene. 
"That's why the order was given to eliminate him," he added.
The man is also suspected of having set fire to his apartment near the supermarket, according to the authorities.
"I called the fire department as soon as I saw smoke coming out of the apartment," Lyubym Gleyevyi, 24, who lives on the floor just above, told AFP. "We had come home five minutes earlier; it's a miracle we didn’t run into him," he said. 
Fellow neighbour Ganna Kulyk said that he spoke very little and had been living in that apartment "for 10 years".
The prosecutor's office confirmed it had opened a terrorism investigation into the incident and that the suspect was a man born in Moscow in 1968.
Interior ministry spokeswoman Mariana Reva however told AFP that "so far there is no confirmation that he had Russian citizenship".
Ukraine, which has been fighting a more than four-year-long war with Russia, has seen sporadic shooting incidents but has a relatively low crime rate.
Last year, a man shot dead two people in a Kyiv suburb in a dispute over the sale of a firearm.
bur-mmp/sbk/gv

pope

Pope Leo speaks out against tyranny, exploitation on Angola visit

BY CLEMENT MELKI AND FRANCOIS AUSSEIL

  • In Luanda, he condemned the "social and environmental disasters" caused by rampant exploitation of resources.
  • Pope Leo XIV spoke out against tyranny and "disasters" caused by the exploitation of natural resources on Saturday as he arrived in Angola for a visit to the oil-rich country with high levels of poverty.
  • In Luanda, he condemned the "social and environmental disasters" caused by rampant exploitation of resources.
Pope Leo XIV spoke out against tyranny and "disasters" caused by the exploitation of natural resources on Saturday as he arrived in Angola for a visit to the oil-rich country with high levels of poverty.
Leo flew in from Cameroon for the third leg of his tour of Africa, telling journalists on the plane that he regretted his 11-day trip had been overshadowed by a spat with US President Donald Trump.
In the capital Luanda, he travelled in his popemobile to meet President Joao Lourenco, with hundreds of cheering and waving people lining the route.
Throughout his four-nation Africa visit, which started in Algeria on Monday, the pope has delivered pointed warnings against corruption, the plunder of the continent's resources and the dangers of artificial intelligence. 
In Luanda, he condemned the "social and environmental disasters" caused by rampant exploitation of resources.
"How much suffering, how many deaths, how many social and environmental disasters are caused by this logic of exploitation," he said in an address to officials including Lourenco.
Angola is one of Africa's top producers of crude oil and is also rich in resources like diamonds but inequality is stark as much of the wealth does not reach ordinary people.
Around a third of the largely young population of 36.6 million people lives below the international poverty line of $2.15 per day, according to the World Bank.
Speaking out against "despots and tyrants" who seek to subjugate people to their power, Leo also urged Angola to "not be afraid of dissent".
Authorities in the country, ruled by Lourenco's socialist MPLA party since independence in 1975, have been accused of stifling freedom of expression including through heavy-handed responses to demonstrations.
Poverty was partly blamed for a three-day looting spree during a strike against fuel hikes in July last year when around 30 people were killed in a police crackdown that was criticised by rights groups. Hundreds of people were jailed.

Regrets Trump spat

On the plane from Cameroon, Leo told journalists that he regretted that remarks he had made during his tour had been interpreted as a response to criticism from Trump, insisting he had no interest in debating the US leader.
He cited a speech about "tyrants" ransacking the world that he delivered in Cameroon on Thursday, saying that the remarks had been written well before Trump's "comment on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting."
"And yet it was perceived as if I were trying to start a new debate with the president, which doesn't interest me at all," Leo said.
Leo had blasted "tyrants" while on a high-security visit to Cameroon's northwestern city of Bamenda, the epicentre of a nearly decade-long English-speaking separatist insurgency that has killed thousands. 
The remarks were interpreted by the US media in particular as a reference to Trump, who said days before he was "not a big fan".
Trump's criticism came after the global leader of Catholics made a plea for an end to the conflict in the Middle East. 

Third papal visit

Leo is the third pontiff to visit Angola, where around 44 percent of the population identifies as Catholic, after John Paul II in 1992 and Benedict XVI in 2009.
"There is a lot of suffering, a lot of poverty in Angola. I hope the pope will see with his own eyes the needs of the youth here," said Antonio Masaidi, a 33-year-old engineer.
On Sunday, Leo will celebrate a giant open-air mass in Kilamba on Luanda's outskirts.
In the afternoon, he will travel by helicopter to the village of Muxima, about 130 kilometres (80 miles) southeast of Luanda, home to a 16th-century church that has become one of southern Africa's most important pilgrimage sites.
On April 20, he is due to travel more than 800 kilometres from the capital to visit a retirement home in Saurimo and celebrate another mass before departing the following morning for Equatorial Guinea.
cmk-fal-br/gv

diplomacy

US extends sanctions waiver on purchases of Russian oil

  • The latest move allows for the purchase of oil and petroleum products that have been loaded onto any vessel as of Friday, through 12:01 am (0401 GMT) on May 16.
  • US President Donald Trump's administration on Friday issued a month-long sanctions waiver allowing the sale of Russian oil and petroleum products that are at sea, extending an earlier move to soften surging energy prices.
  • The latest move allows for the purchase of oil and petroleum products that have been loaded onto any vessel as of Friday, through 12:01 am (0401 GMT) on May 16.
US President Donald Trump's administration on Friday issued a month-long sanctions waiver allowing the sale of Russian oil and petroleum products that are at sea, extending an earlier move to soften surging energy prices.
The license, issued by the Treasury Department, comes two days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington would not renew the waiver.
The latest move allows for the purchase of oil and petroleum products that have been loaded onto any vessel as of Friday, through 12:01 am (0401 GMT) on May 16.
It prolongs an earlier easing of sanctions that expired on April 11.
On Wednesday, however, Bessent had told reporters that the United States would not make such an extension for Russian oil -- or Iranian oil.
Both measures aimed to ease global supply shocks from the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Tehran retaliated by effectively closing off the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for energy shipments.
Oil prices have since surged, squeezing countries and especially those dependent on energy exports from the region.
US gasoline prices have jumped as well, putting pressure on households ahead of key midterm elections this year.
But such waivers could complicate efforts to deprive Russia of oil revenue needed for its war on Ukraine.
Senate Democrats Jeanne Shaheen, Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren slammed the decision as "shameful" in a joint statement.
"This decision is shameful and a 180-degree reversal from Secretary Bessent, just two days after he pledged not to extend sanctions relief for Russia," the senators said.
"Make no mistake, Putin has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of President Trump's war against Iran, as Russia saw oil revenues nearly double in March" they added.
This week, after a meeting of Group of Seven finance leaders in Washington, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure stressed that "Russia mustn't be getting benefits from what's happening in Iran."
He added that Ukraine should also not be "collateral damage."
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, launched in 2022, has become the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.
bys/sla/aks/hol

pope

Pope arrives in Angola on Africa tour overshadowed by Trump

BY CLEMENT MELKI AND FRANCOIS AUSSEIL

  • Trump had said on April 12 he was "not a big fan of Pope Leo", and accused his fellow American of "toying with a country (Iran) that wants a nuclear weapon".
  • Pope Leo XIV arrived in Angola on Saturday on the third leg of visit to Africa, lamenting that the tour had been marked by a war of words with US President Donald Trump.
  • Trump had said on April 12 he was "not a big fan of Pope Leo", and accused his fellow American of "toying with a country (Iran) that wants a nuclear weapon".
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Angola on Saturday on the third leg of visit to Africa, lamenting that the tour had been marked by a war of words with US President Donald Trump.
Leo flew into the oil-rich country from Cameroon, where he ended his visit with a huge public mass.
After landing at an airport in the capital Luanda, he travelled in his popemobile to meet President Joao Lourenco with hundreds of cheering and waving people lining his route.
On the plane to the southern African country, Leo told journalists that he regretted remarks he had made during his tour had been interpreted as a response to criticism from Trump, insisting he had no interest in debating the US leader.
An example was a speech about "tyrants" ransacking the world that he delivered in Cameroon on Thursday on the second leg of the trip, he said.
The remarks had been written well before Trump's "comment on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting", he said.
"And yet it was perceived as if I were trying to start a new debate with the president, which doesn't interest me at all," Leo said.
"Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary trying to interpret what has been said," he said.
Leo had blasted "tyrants" while on a high-security visit to Cameroon's northwestern city of Bamenda, the epicentre of a nearly decade-long English-speaking separatist insurgency that has killed thousands. 
The remarks were interpreted by the US media in particular as a reference to Trump.
But Leo insisted that "there's been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects".
Trump had said on April 12 he was "not a big fan of Pope Leo", and accused his fellow American of "toying with a country (Iran) that wants a nuclear weapon".
He later doubled down with a post on Truth Social, saying: "Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy."

'Courage to change'

The US-born pope concluded his three-day visit to Cameroon with an open-air mass at Yaounde airport before 200,000 people.
In his homily delivered in French, he thanked the people of Cameroon and urged the crowd to have "the courage to change habits and structures", in a country ruled with an iron fist by 93-year-old Paul Biya since 1982.
Throughout his 11-day four-nation Africa visit, which started in Algeria, he has delivered pointed warnings against corruption, the plunder of the continent's resources and the dangers of artificial intelligence. 
They are warnings that are likely to strike a chord in oil-rich Angola.
Despite its wealth of resources, around a third of the population of 36.6 million people lives below the international poverty line of $2.15 per day, according to the World Bank.
The economy is heavily dependent on oil, leaving it exposed to price fluctuations, while corruption is reportedly rampant.
Around 15 million people in the Portuguese-speaking country, about 44 percent of the population, identify as Catholic.
Leo is the third pontiff to visit the country, after John Paul II in 1992 and Benedict XVI in 2009.

'Needs of the youth'

"There is a lot of suffering, a lot of poverty in Angola. I hope the pope will see with his own eyes the needs of the youth here," said Antonio Masaidi, a 33-year-old engineer.
On Sunday, Leo will celebrate a giant open-air mass in Kilamba on Luanda's outskirts.
In the afternoon, he will travel by helicopter to the village of Muxima, about 130 kilometres (80 miles) southeast of Luanda, home to a 16th-century church that has become one of southern Africa's most important pilgrimage sites.
On April 20, he is due to travel more than 800 kilometres from the capital to visit a retirement home in Saurimo and celebrate another mass before departing the following morning.
Leo will then fly to Equatorial Guinea, the final stop of his whirlwind 18,000-kilometre tour.
cmk-fal-br/sbk

US

Trade ships hit in Hormuz as Iran recloses strait

BY ROLAND LLOYD PARRY

  • - Iran tightens control - Iran's central military command on Saturday appeared to reverse the decision to reopen the route, saying it would resume "strict management" of the strait because of the continued US naval counter-blockade.
  • Commercial ships came under fire and threats from Iran's military as they tried to cross the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, security monitors said, as Iran closed the crucial trade route again following a brief reopening.
  • - Iran tightens control - Iran's central military command on Saturday appeared to reverse the decision to reopen the route, saying it would resume "strict management" of the strait because of the continued US naval counter-blockade.
Commercial ships came under fire and threats from Iran's military as they tried to cross the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, security monitors said, as Iran closed the crucial trade route again following a brief reopening.
Iran reversed its pledge to reopen the strait to commercial traffic during a ceasefire in the Middle East war in protest at an ongoing US counter-blockade of the route, a crucial passage for commodity shipments.
A UK maritime security agency said Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) fired at a tanker, while security intelligence firm Vanguard Tech reported the force threatened to "destroy" an empty cruise ship that was fleeing the Gulf after Tehran on Friday announced a brief respite.
A handful of oil and gas tankers crossed the strait early Saturday during the brief reopening, tracking data showed, but others retreated and tracking platforms showed hardly any vessels crossing the waterway by the late afternoon.

Tanker shot at

IRGC gunboats fired on the tanker in the strait northeast of Oman, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said in an online statement, adding the vessel and crew were safe.
Vanguard identified the tanker as the India-flagged tanker Sanmar Herald.
It cited the captain as saying two IRGC patrol boats approached it with no radio contact and "shots were fired, resulting in damage to the bridge windows".
Vanguard said separately that the Malta-flagged cruise ship Mein Schiff 4 reported a splash nearby while crossing near Oman, on the far side of the strait from Iran.
"The Master confirmed VHF (radio) traffic from IRGC units stating 'we are carrying out operation, we will fire and destroy you,'" but no damage was reported, Vanguard said.
In a third incident, the UKMTO said that it also received a report of a container ship in the same area "being hit by an unknown projectile which caused damage to some of the containers" but no fire.

Ships dash through

Around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the strait in peacetime, but traffic came to a near-standstill after the war erupted on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
During the reopening, at least eight oil and gas tankers crossed the strait early Saturday after the Iranian announcement on Friday afternoon, data from tracking firm Kpler indicated.
Tracking platform MarineTraffic showed several other crude oil tankers approached the strait but turned back near Iran's Larak Island, a checkpoint for vessels seeking to exit the Gulf under the Iranian blockade of the passage.
Four French-owned container ships bearing the name of major shipping firm CMA CGM also made U-turns in the strait on Saturday around 1000 GMT after starting to exit, the platform indicated.
Besides the Mein Schiff 4, MarineTraffic indicated three other cruise ships -- reportedly empty -- had fled the strait.

Iran tightens control

Iran's central military command on Saturday appeared to reverse the decision to reopen the route, saying it would resume "strict management" of the strait because of the continued US naval counter-blockade.
Iran's closure of the strait has trapped hundreds of ships in the Gulf and driven up the price of oil and the costs of shipping goods, with captains avoiding the region for fear of attacks or mines.
The shipping industry had reacted guardedly to the reopening on Friday.
"BIMCO believes shipping companies should consider avoiding the area," Jakob Larsen, chief security officer of major shipping association BIMCO, said in a statement emailed to AFP, citing the risk of sea mines.
pa-rlp/sbk

politics

Pope says he regrets his remarks interpreted as a debate with Trump

  • "And yet it was perceived as if I were trying to start a new debate with the president, which doesn't interest me at all," Leo said.
  • Pope Leo XIV said Saturday he regretted remarks he made were interpreted as a response to criticism from President Donald Trump, insisting he had no interest in debating the US leader.
  • "And yet it was perceived as if I were trying to start a new debate with the president, which doesn't interest me at all," Leo said.
Pope Leo XIV said Saturday he regretted remarks he made were interpreted as a response to criticism from President Donald Trump, insisting he had no interest in debating the US leader.
An example was a speech about "tyrants" ransacking the world that he delivered in Cameroon on Thursday on the second leg of a tour of Africa, Leo told journalists as he travelled to Angola.
The remarks had been written well before Trump's "comment on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting," he said.
"And yet it was perceived as if I were trying to start a new debate with the president, which doesn't interest me at all," Leo said.
"Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary trying to interpret what has been said," he said.
Leo had blasted "tyrants" ransacking the world on Thursday while on a high-security visit to Cameroon's northwestern city of Bamenda, the epicentre of a nearly decade-long English-speaking separatist insurgency that has killed thousands. 
The remarks were interpreted by the US media in particular as a reference to Trump.
But they were written well before Trump's criticisms, Leo said, adding "there's been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects".
Trump had said on April 12 he was "not a big fan of Pope Leo", and accused him of "toying with a country (Iran) that wants a nuclear weapon".
He later doubled down on his comments to reporters with a post on Truth Social, saying: "I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon."
"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," the US leader said.
cmk/br/rmb

US

No date set for next round of Iran-US talks: Iran deputy FM

BY FULYA OZERKAN

  • Egypt and Pakistan were working "very hard" as mediators to bring about "a final agreement between the United States and Iran", Egypt's foreign minister told journalists at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. 
  • No date has been set for the next round of Iran–US peace talks brokered by Pakistan following the failure of an initial round, Iran's deputy foreign minister said on Saturday. 
  • Egypt and Pakistan were working "very hard" as mediators to bring about "a final agreement between the United States and Iran", Egypt's foreign minister told journalists at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. 
No date has been set for the next round of Iran–US peace talks brokered by Pakistan following the failure of an initial round, Iran's deputy foreign minister said on Saturday. 
"Until we agree on the framework, we cannot set a date," Saeed Khatibzadeh told journalists on the sidelines of an annual diplomatic forum in Turkey's southern Antalya province. 
"We hope that as soon as we can finalise that, then we can move on to the next step". 
Khatibzadeh said both sides were currently focused on finalising a framework of understanding before proceeding with further negotiations. 
"We do not want to enter into any negotiation or meeting that is destined to fail and could serve as a pretext for another round of escalation," he said. 
"I can assure you that Iran is very much committed to diplomacy". 
Pakistan's powerful military chief and prime minister concluded separate visits aimed at ending the Iran war, with Field Marshal Asim Munir leaving Tehran and premier Shehbaz Sharif headed home from Turkey.
Munir met Iran's top leadership and peace negotiators during a three-day visit to Tehran, a Pakistani military statement said.
Egypt and Pakistan were working "very hard" as mediators to bring about "a final agreement between the United States and Iran", Egypt's foreign minister told journalists at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. 
Egypt and Turkey has joined diplomatic efforts with Pakistan to help secure a ceasefire in the conflict. 
"We hope to do so (reach an agreement) in the coming days," Badr Abdelatty said, noting that "not only us in the region, but the whole world is suffering from the continuation of this war".
"We are pushing very hard in order to move forward," he said.

Trump 'tweets a lot'

Iran dismissed US threats of fresh military action, with the senior Iranian official saying that Washington's statements were inconsistent.
"The American side tweets a lot, talks a lot. Sometimes confusing, sometimes, you know, contradictory," Khatibzadeh said, referring to US President Donald Trump and his frequent social media posts.
"It is up to the American people to decide whether these statements are consistent and in accordance with international law," he added.
Khatibzadeh said Iran's position was clear and vowed resistance to pressure from Washington.
"What we are going to do is quite clear. We will defend heroically and patriotically (our country) ... as the oldest civilisation on earth," he said.
The deputy minister also rejected US accusations that Iran was threatening freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil shipments, after Iran's military again declared the waterway closed.
"Americans cannot impose their will to do a siege over Iran while Iran, with good intention, is trying to facilitate safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz," Khatibzadeh said.
He said Iran had announced safe passage for commercial vessels for the duration of Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, provided there was prior coordination with Iranian maritime authorities.
However, Khatibzadeh accused Washington of attempting to "sabotage" those efforts.
"If ceasefire terms are violated and Americans do not honour their commitments, there will be repercussions for them," he said.
fo/rmb

US

Turkey says Israel using security as a pretext to acquire 'more land'

BY FULYA OZERKAN

  • "Israel has to know that the only way to live peacefully in the region is to let other countries enjoy their own security, territorial integrity and freedom, and not to use power against them," he added.
  • Turkey's top diplomat on Saturday accused Israel of creating an international "illusion" and using security concerns as a pretext to seize "more land," in the latest flare‑up in escalating tensions between the two regional powers.
  • "Israel has to know that the only way to live peacefully in the region is to let other countries enjoy their own security, territorial integrity and freedom, and not to use power against them," he added.
Turkey's top diplomat on Saturday accused Israel of creating an international "illusion" and using security concerns as a pretext to seize "more land," in the latest flare‑up in escalating tensions between the two regional powers.
Israel and Turkey have been trading near‑daily diplomatic barbs over a range of regional conflicts, from Israel's war in Gaza to rising tensions linked to Iran.
"Israel is not after its own security. Israel is after more land," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in the Mediterranean resort city. 
"Security is being used by the Netanyahu government as an excuse to occupy more land," he added, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking in English at a panel discussion, Fidan said Israel had created an "illusion" internationally by portraying itself as acting purely in its own defence.
"It has become very clear, especially in recent years, that it is more than that," he said.
From Palestinian lands including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and now extending towards Lebanon and Syria, Israel was pursuing "an onward occupation and expansionism in the region," Fidan said.
"I think this has to stop."
"Israel has to know that the only way to live peacefully in the region is to let other countries enjoy their own security, territorial integrity and freedom, and not to use power against them," he added.
Turkey and Israel have frequently been at odds, including over Israel's military campaign in Gaza and differences over Syria's future.
Relations were severely strained in 2010 when Israeli forces raided a flotilla of ships attempting to breach Israel's naval blockade of Gaza, killing nine Turkish activists and one US national. The flotilla was co‑organised by a Turkish aid group.

'Move back to Russia-Ukraine talks'

Fidan on Friday met the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt for talks on regional issues, including the Middle East conflict, on the sidelines of the forum.
Asked about the discussions, Fidan said regional countries needed to come together to address shared challenges.
"It is time for all of us to come together in a very mature way and own our problems," he said, again singling out Israel as the only country seeking territorial gains.
Commenting on Turkey's quiet diplomacy over the Russia‑Ukraine war, Fidan said those efforts had been overshadowed by tensions involving Iran.
"That has left the Russia‑Ukraine war on the side," he said.
He added that attention should shift back to Ukraine talks once tensions with Iran eased, warning that the conflict remained open to escalation.
Turkey, which has hosted several rounds of Russia‑Ukraine negotiations, is also hosting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha at separate panels during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
fo/cw

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • Munir met Iran's top leadership and peace negotiators during a three-day visit to Tehran, a Pakistani military statement said.
  • The latest developments in the Middle East war: - Hormuz closed again - Iran's central military command said it would resume "strict management" of the Strait of Hormuz, reversing a decision to unblock the strategic channel as part of negotiations with Washington.
  • Munir met Iran's top leadership and peace negotiators during a three-day visit to Tehran, a Pakistani military statement said.
The latest developments in the Middle East war:

Hormuz closed again

Iran's central military command said it would resume "strict management" of the Strait of Hormuz, reversing a decision to unblock the strategic channel as part of negotiations with Washington.
In a statement shared on state television, the headquarters said Washington had broken a promise by continuing its naval blockade of ships sailing to and from Iran's ports.

Turkey slams Israel

Turkey's foreign minister accused Israel of using security as a pretext to acquire "more land".
"Israel is not after its own security. Israel is after more land. Security is being used by the Netanyahu government as an excuse to occupy more land," Hakan Fidan told the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Pakistan war diplomacy

Pakistan's powerful military chief and prime minister concluded separate visits aimed at ending the Iran war, with Field Marshal Asim Munir leaving Tehran and premier Shehbaz Sharif headed home from Turkey.
Munir met Iran's top leadership and peace negotiators during a three-day visit to Tehran, a Pakistani military statement said.
A second round of talks between the United States and Iran is expected in Islamabad this coming week.

Iranian airspace partially opened

Iran partially reopened its airspace on Saturday to international flights crossing the eastern part of its territory.
"Air routes in the eastern section of the country's airspace are open for international flights transiting through Iran," the country's Civil Aviation Authority said, adding that some airports had also reopened at 7:00 am (0330 GMT).

Trump says blockade may 'remain'

President Donald Trump said late Friday he planned to maintain a US blockade of Iranian ports if a peace deal with Tehran is not reached, adding that he may not extend the ceasefire after its expiration.
A ceasefire between Tehran and Washington is due to expire on Wednesday. 
"Maybe I won't extend it, but the blockade is going to remain," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, when asked if the ceasefire will be extended.
Asked about a potential deal, Trump said, "I think it's going to happen."

Trump says US will bring uranium back from Iran

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States and Iran would jointly remove uranium from Tehran's nuclear sites with excavators under any peace deal, before the material is transferred to US territory.
Trump's comment came despite Iran's foreign ministry saying earlier that the Islamic Republic's stockpile of enriched uranium would not be transferred "anywhere."

Lebanon-Israel 'agreements'

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that his country was on the verge of a "new phase" of "permanent agreements" and no longer an "arena" for anyone's wars, after a ceasefire in with Israel-Hezbollah war went into force.
Aoun added that direct talks with Israel were "not a sign of weakness nor a concession... negotiations do not mean, and will never mean, giving up any right, conceding any principle, or compromising the sovereignty of this nation".

Kurds killed

Drone and rocket strikes in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region killed three Iranian Kurds, including two women fighters, an exiled opposition group said, blaming the attack on Iran.

Iran deal 'very close'

US President Donald Trump told AFP there were "no sticking points" left for a peace deal with Iran, adding that an agreement was "very close".
"We're very close to having a deal," Trump said in a brief telephone interview. Asked what unresolved issues were left, Trump said: "No sticking points."

Boeing's war boost

The Middle East war has so far boosted Boeing's defence business and hasn't affected deliveries to airline customers confronting high jet fuel prices, the company's CEO said.
Kelly Ortberg cited a recent agreement with the US military to triple production of PAC-3 seekers, which identify and strike hostile aircraft and weapons, as an example of increased demand due to the war.

One killed despite truce

Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike on a motorcycle in the south killed one person, despite the start of a 10-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
burs-ach/cw

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • "With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open," Ghalibaf wrote on X, adding that passage through the waterway would depend on authorisation from Iran.
  • The latest developments in the Middle East war: - Iran threatens to close Hormuz again - Iran will close the strategic Strait of Hormuz again if the United States continues its blockade of Iranian ports, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Saturday.
  • "With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open," Ghalibaf wrote on X, adding that passage through the waterway would depend on authorisation from Iran.
The latest developments in the Middle East war:

Iran threatens to close Hormuz again

Iran will close the strategic Strait of Hormuz again if the United States continues its blockade of Iranian ports, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Saturday.
"With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open," Ghalibaf wrote on X, adding that passage through the waterway would depend on authorisation from Iran.

Trump says US will bring uranium back from Iran

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States and Iran would jointly remove uranium from Tehran's nuclear sites with excavators under any peace deal, before the material is transferred to US territory.
Trump's comment came despite Iran's foreign ministry saying earlier that the Islamic Republic's stockpile of enriched uranium would not be transferred "anywhere."

Oil prices drop, stocks soar

Wall Street topped records Friday after Iran's announcement reopening the Strait of Hormuz sent oil prices tumbling from a peak of nearly $120 a barrel to $90.38 for the Brent.

Lebanon-Israel 'agreements'

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that his country was on the verge of a "new phase" of "permanent agreements" and no longer an "arena" for anyone's wars, after a ceasefire in with Israel-Hezbollah war went into force.
Aoun added that direct talks with Israel were "not a sign of weakness nor a concession... negotiations do not mean, and will never mean, giving up any right, conceding any principle, or compromising the sovereignty of this nation".

Kurds killed

Drone and rocket strikes in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region killed three Iranian Kurds, including two women fighters, an exiled opposition group said, blaming the attack on Iran.

Iran deal 'very close'

US President Donald Trump told AFP there were "no sticking points" left for a peace deal with Iran, adding that an agreement was "very close".
"We're very close to having a deal," Trump said in a brief telephone interview. Asked what unresolved issues were left, Trump said: "No sticking points."

Boeing's war boost

The Middle East war has so far boosted Boeing's defence business and hasn't affected deliveries to airline customers confronting high jet fuel prices, the company's CEO said.
Kelly Ortberg cited a recent agreement with the US military to triple production of PAC-3 seekers, which identify and strike hostile aircraft and weapons, as an example of increased demand due to the war.

One killed despite truce

Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike on a motorcycle in the south killed one person, despite the start of a 10-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Israel killed 2,300  in Lebanon

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed nearly 2,300 people since March 2, Lebanon's health ministry said, on the first day of the ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
In a statement, the ministry said that at least 2,294 have been killed, in a preliminary toll that included 274 women, 177 children and 100 health workers and rescuers.

France, UK Hormuz mission

France and the UK will lead a multinational mission to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz as "soon as conditions allow", UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said after co-chairing a meeting on the issue with French President Emmanuel Macron.
burs-jgc/ksb

US

Turkey hosts latest diplomatic push on Middle East war

BY FULYA OZERKAN

  • The foreign ministers of Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt met later on Friday on the sidelines of the forum, hours after Tehran declared Hormuz open to commercial shipping. 
  • Turkey on Friday hosted a high‑stakes diplomatic forum bringing together the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz open and Islamabad steps up efforts to help end the Middle East war.
  • The foreign ministers of Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt met later on Friday on the sidelines of the forum, hours after Tehran declared Hormuz open to commercial shipping. 
Turkey on Friday hosted a high‑stakes diplomatic forum bringing together the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz open and Islamabad steps up efforts to help end the Middle East war.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the shortest route to peace lay in dialogue and diplomacy.
"I believe the window of opportunity opened by the ceasefire should be used in the most effective way to establish lasting peace," he told the opening of the three‑day Antalya Diplomacy Forum at the Mediterranean resort.
"No matter how deep the disagreements may be, we must not allow words to be replaced again by weapons," he said, adding that "the shortest cut to peace is constructive dialogue and diplomacy". 
The foreign ministers of Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt met later on Friday on the sidelines of the forum, hours after Tehran declared Hormuz open to commercial shipping. 
A photo released by the Turkish foreign ministry showed the foreign ministers of four countries meeting in a diplomatic setting. 
Pakistan has sought to position itself as a key regional mediator, having hosted rare talks between Iran and the United States last weekend that ended without a breakthrough.
The White House said further talks with Iran would "very likely" take place in Islamabad, where Vice President JD Vance led the US delegation during the previous round of negotiations.

'We must be vigilant'

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who met Qatar's ruler in Doha on Thursday as part of a regional tour, attended the opening of the Antalya forum and also met Erdogan on its margins on Friday.
"We will continue to provide all the support we can to ensure that the ongoing temporary ceasefire turns into a permanent one," a Turkish defence ministry source said on Thursday.
The source added that Ankara hoped the war "whose effects are being felt increasingly not only regionally but also globally" would end swiftly, with all parties engaging constructively in negotiations.
Turkey, a vocal critic of Israel, has joined diplomatic efforts with Egypt and Pakistan to help secure a ceasefire in the conflict, while maintaining that the truce should also apply to Lebanon.
Erdogan did not comment directly on the latest ceasefire reached between Israel and Lebanon but warned against attempts to derail talks.
"We must be prepared and vigilant against Israel's attempts to dynamite the negotiation process," he said.
Turning to the Strait of Hormuz, Erdogan said access to the waterway must not be restricted. His words came shortly before Iran's declaration. 
"One side of Hormuz is Iran, while the other side is Oman. The right of Gulf countries to access open seas must not be restricted," he told the forum, calling for freedom of navigation "based on established rules" and for the strait to remain open to commercial vessels.
More than 150 countries are taking part in the gathering, including more than 20 heads of state and government.
Among those attending are Syrian President Ahmed al‑Sharaa and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Speaking earlier on Friday, Sharaa said he could consider "long‑term negotiations" with Israel over the disputed Golan Heights if Israel agreed to withdraw from recently occupied Syrian territories.
Since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al‑Assad in December 2024, Israel has deployed troops into a UN‑patrolled buffer zone that for decades separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights.
fo/jxb

Global Edition

Oil plunges, stocks jump as Iran declares Hormuz open

  • "This news is having an immediate impact on markets," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. The move also sent a jolt through equity markets, extending a rally in New York, where equities have pushed ever higher since late March in anticipation of a breakthrough in the Middle East crisis.
  • Oil prices tumbled Friday after Iranian officials said they would allow commercial traffic to resume in the Strait of Hormuz, lifting equity markets in Europe and New York, where major indices hit new records.
  • "This news is having an immediate impact on markets," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. The move also sent a jolt through equity markets, extending a rally in New York, where equities have pushed ever higher since late March in anticipation of a breakthrough in the Middle East crisis.
Oil prices tumbled Friday after Iranian officials said they would allow commercial traffic to resume in the Strait of Hormuz, lifting equity markets in Europe and New York, where major indices hit new records.
Citing the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would lift its blockade on shipping through the key Gulf energy trade route.
"In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire," Araghchi said. 
Traffic in the strategic waterway, through which one-fifth of the world's crude oil normally flows, has been disrupted by Iran since the US-Israeli offensive began on February 28, at one point sending oil prices to a peak of nearly $120 a barrel and roiling the global economy.
Both Brent, the benchmark international contract, and its US equivalent WTI fell below $90 per barrel following Tehran's announcement. Brent later cut its losses and finished at $90.38 a barrel, down 9.1 percent. 
"This news is having an immediate impact on markets," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
The move also sent a jolt through equity markets, extending a rally in New York, where equities have pushed ever higher since late March in anticipation of a breakthrough in the Middle East crisis.
"We had seen a big move the last two weeks and now it's just really pricing completely out the worst-case" scenario, said Angelo Kourkafas, from Edward Jones.
Kourkafas also pointed to underlying strength in the US economy that should get more attention in the coming period as geopolitical concerns ebb.
"Geopolitical developments are moving the right direction and at the same time the earning strength is hard to ignore," Kourkafas said.
The broad-based S&P 500 finished at 7,126.06, up 1.2 percent for the day and 4.5 percent for the week.

'Good news'

Earlier, European stocks closed higher, with both Frankfurt and Paris gaining two percent. 
US President Donald Trump cheered the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in an interview with AFP. 
"We're very close to having a deal," Trump said in a brief telephone call with AFP from Las Vegas, adding there were "no sticking points at all" left with Tehran.
But Iran quickly pushed back on one key point. 
Iran's foreign ministry said Friday that its stockpile of enriched uranium would not be transferred "anywhere," rejecting an earlier claim by Trump that the Islamic republic had agreed to hand it over.
Shipping industry figures, meanwhile, gave a cautious welcome to Iran's announcement.
A spokesman for German transportation giant Hapag-Lloyd, which has ships stuck in the Gulf, told AFP by phone that the reopening was "in general... good news."
But he cautioned that shippers still needed details of what route vessels could take and in what order, citing fears of mines.
"One thousand ships cannot just go now to the entrance of the strait, that will be chaos. They (the Iranians) need to give clear orders," said the spokesman, Nils Haupt.
"We would be ready to go very soon if some of these open questions can be solved within the weekend."

Key figures around 2020 GMT

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 9.1 percent at $90.38 a barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 11.5 percent at $83.85 a barrel
New York - Dow Jones: UP 1.8 percent at 49,447.43 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 1.2 percent at 7,126.06 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.5 percent at 24,468.48 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 10,667.63 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 2.0 percent at 8,425.13 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 2.3 percent at 24,702.24 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.8 percent at 58,475.90 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 26,160.33 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,051.43 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1776 from $1.1781 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3530 from $1.3527
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 158.49 yen from 159.17 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.02 pence from 87.09 pence
burs-jmb/sst

US

Lebanon president says working on 'permanent agreements' after Israel truce

  • In a speech addressing the Lebanese people and hinting at the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group the day after US President Donald Trump announced the truce, Aoun said that his country was no longer "an arena for anyone's wars".
  • Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Friday that his country was on the verge of a "new phase" of "permanent agreements", after the 10-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war went into force.
  • In a speech addressing the Lebanese people and hinting at the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group the day after US President Donald Trump announced the truce, Aoun said that his country was no longer "an arena for anyone's wars".
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Friday that his country was on the verge of a "new phase" of "permanent agreements", after the 10-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war went into force.
In a speech addressing the Lebanese people and hinting at the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group the day after US President Donald Trump announced the truce, Aoun said that his country was no longer "an arena for anyone's wars".
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East conflict on March 2 when Tehran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel to avenge the death of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Israel responded by firing waves of strikes on Lebanon and launching a ground offensive, killing nearly 2,300 people and displacing more than a million.
"Now, we all stand before a new phase," Aoun said in his first speech to the nation since the truce.
"It is the phase of transition from working on a ceasefire to working on permanent agreements that preserve the rights of our people, the unity of our land, and the sovereignty of our nation."
He said the Lebanese government had "reclaimed Lebanon and Lebanon's decision-making power for the first time" in nearly half a century.
"Today, we negotiate for ourselves... we are no longer a pawn in anyone's game, nor an arena for anyone's wars, and we never will be again," he said.
Since Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam were sworn in last year, Beirut took several unprecedented decisions against Hezbollah, including a commitment to disarm the group in August after a November 2024 ceasefire sought to end its previous conflict with Israel.
It also banned the group's military acitivites after the start of the most recent war last month.
Hezbollah is the only group to have kept its weapons after the 1975-1990 civil war citing "resistance" against Israel, despite the latter's withdrawal from the country in 2000.
In a country mired by sectarian and political divisions, the Shia group's arms have repeatedly caused internal crises.

'Not a concession'

The president thanked "all those who contributed to achieving the ceasefire", including Saudi Arabia and Trump, who announced the truce on Thursday.
Trump later said he expected Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the White House "over the next four or five days". 
The ceasefire came days after Lebanon and Israel's ambassadors to the US held a meeting in Washington, the first direct meeting between the two countries in decades, as they have technically been at war since 1948.
Negotiations with Israel is a divisive topic in Lebanon, with some seeing it as a way to end decades of recurring conflicts, while others including Hezbollah and its supporters reject it.
Direct talks with Israel were "not a sign of weakness nor a concession... negotiations do not mean, and will never mean, giving up any right, conceding any principle, or compromising the sovereignty of this nation," Aoun added in his speech.
On May 17, 1983, Lebanon and Israel signed an agreement on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon after four-and-a-half months of direct talks with US participation.
The deal was scrapped less than a year later, in March 1984, under pressure from Syria and its allies in Lebanon.
After the 2024 war, Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives met within the framework of a ceasefire monitoring committee.
The two sides also concluded an agreement in 2022 to demarcate their maritime border, brokered by Washington without direct communication.
"I hereby affirm... that there will be no agreement that infringes upon our national rights," Aoun said.
"Our goal is clear: to stop the Israeli aggression against our land and our people, to achieve Israeli withdrawal, to extend the authority of the state over all its territory by its own forces exclusively, and to ensure the return of the prisoners and the return of our people to their homes and villages."
lk/nad/jfx

immigration

Frenchwoman who married GI sweetheart returns home after ICE ordeal

  • However, she was still in the United States "seven months later", according to US authorities.
  • A Frenchwoman who moved to the United States to marry a Vietnam war veteran she met six decades ago returned to France on Friday after she was detained by US immigration authorities, the French foreign minister said.
  • However, she was still in the United States "seven months later", according to US authorities.
A Frenchwoman who moved to the United States to marry a Vietnam war veteran she met six decades ago returned to France on Friday after she was detained by US immigration authorities, the French foreign minister said.
The 85-year-old woman, who was not being named at the family's request, "returned to France this morning, and we are pleased about that", Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters on a visit to the southern city of Montpellier.
"We are particularly relieved today to see our mum, whom we were reunited with this morning, after she has been through what must have been an extremely difficult ordeal for her," the woman's eldest son, Herve, told a brief press conference in  the village of Orvault in western France, where she lived. 
The local mayor, Sebastien Arrouet, also expressed "joy" at her liberation.
"Together with her son, we had opted for complete discretion to allow diplomatic channels to find a swift resolution for her release," he wrote on Facebook, adding that he was "eagerly looking forward to welcoming her back to Orvault".
The woman had travelled to Anniston, Alabama in 2025 to marry the former Air Force colonel, and was seeking a Green Card, which allows people to live and work permanently in the United States.
The couple first met some 60 years earlier when she was working as a bilingual secretary and he was a soldier stationed at a NATO base, reportedly in Saint-Nazaire, western France, but both ended up marrying other people.
Decades later, after they were both widowed, they reconnected.
According to the New York Times, the woman gave up her life in the village near the French city of Nantes and moved to Alabama, where the couple married in April 2025.
But the American died suddenly in January at the age of 85, throwing her immigration status into uncertainty and leading to her detention by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) in Louisiana.
US media reports said his death also ignited an inheritance dispute between the woman and his son.
The US Department of Homeland Security told AFP on Tuesday that the woman had been detained on April 1. 
- 'Handcuffed and shackled' - 
She had entered the United States in June 2025 on a tourist visa that allowed her to stay for 90 days. However, she was still in the United States "seven months later", according to US authorities.
Citing accounts from US neighbours, her son told AFP that his mother was arrested, "handcuffed and shackled".
The ICE agency is regarded as the strong arm of US President Donald Trump's fierce anti-immigration campaign. It has faced nationwide criticism in America over its aggressive tactics against documented and undocumented immigrants, and for the shooting deaths of two US citizens this year.
As soon as news of the Frenchwoman's arrest broke, a diplomatic source had told AFP that the French Consulate General in Atlanta was "closely monitoring the situation" and providing her with "consular protection".
When asked about ICE's approach, Barrot criticised methods being used by US authorities without referring specifically to the Frenchwoman's case.
"There have been instances of violence that have raised our concern. But the main thing is that she is back in France, and that fully satisfies us," he said.
siu-smk-mb-spm/jxb

children

Genital mutilation: the silent suffering of Colombia's Indigenous girls

BY ALBA SANTANA

  • It does not, however, provide for midwives who flout the ban to be punished, with Indigenous leaders arguing that the women "lack information" about the dangers of FGM. It calls instead for a government-led awareness campaign to sensitize them to the suffering caused by the mutilation and to dispel myths about girls who are spared -- that they will grow up to be sexually promiscuous or even that their clitorises will grow into something resembling a penis.
  • Alejandrina Guasorna did not discover until adulthood that she had been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) the day she was born in a remote Indigenous community in Colombia's coffee-growing region.
  • It does not, however, provide for midwives who flout the ban to be punished, with Indigenous leaders arguing that the women "lack information" about the dangers of FGM. It calls instead for a government-led awareness campaign to sensitize them to the suffering caused by the mutilation and to dispel myths about girls who are spared -- that they will grow up to be sexually promiscuous or even that their clitorises will grow into something resembling a penis.
Alejandrina Guasorna did not discover until adulthood that she had been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) the day she was born in a remote Indigenous community in Colombia's coffee-growing region.
In the mountains of Risaralda, home to the Embera people, dozens of babies have their clitoris cut each year in a brutal practice based on traditional beliefs about the need to control girls' sexuality.
Some bleed to death or die of infections from unhealed wounds.
"We often saw dead baby girls. We thought it was normal," said Guasorna, a 74-year-old farm worker who has helped deliver babies in her own family but herself never performed genital cutting.
Colombia is the only Latin American country where female circumcision, believed to have been passed on to Indigenous groups by descendants of African slaves, is known to be still practiced.
Nearly two centuries after Colombia, which was a major hub in the South American slave trade, abolished slavery, a landmark ban on FGM is finally being debated by Congress.

A blade or nail

When girls are born in the Embera Chami reserve of Pueblo Rico, a region under Indigenous jurisdiction, midwives use a blade or red-hot nail to remove part of all of their external genitalia, local women told AFP.
The practice, which has declared a human rights violation by the UN and World Health Organization but remains widespread in parts of Africa, is a taboo subject in the Embera reserve.
Many people look away or remain silent, clearly uncomfortable, when the subject comes up.
Guasorna only learned that she had undergone the procedure after hearing rumors that were eventually confirmed by her sister.
Francia Giraldo, an Embera leader, said some babies bleed to death and are never taken to hospital. Parents receive neither birth nor death certificates.
Their mothers, she said, "bury them" straight away.
The bill before Congress, which was drafted by lawmakers together with Indigenous women leaders, aims to end the practice.
It does not, however, provide for midwives who flout the ban to be punished, with Indigenous leaders arguing that the women "lack information" about the dangers of FGM.
It calls instead for a government-led awareness campaign to sensitize them to the suffering caused by the mutilation and to dispel myths about girls who are spared -- that they will grow up to be sexually promiscuous or even that their clitorises will grow into something resembling a penis.
- Pain and secrecy - 
Sexual relations are often painful for victims of FGM.
Etelbina Queragama's face is dotted with paint marks that denote her status within her community.
Speaking in Embera, translated into Spanish by one of her seven children, the 63-year-old housewife said she has "never" felt anything but pain during intercourse.
There are no official figures on the practice of genital mutilation, given the secrecy surrounding the custom.
But according to the National Health Institute, at least 204 cases were performed in Colombia between 2020 and 2025. 
Sarita Patino, a doctor at a hospital that treats FGM victims in Pueblo Rico, believes the incidence of FGM is "greatly under-reported."
Since the start of the year, she has already seen six cases.
In February, a six-month-old baby was brought in with a fever. "The baby girl had her clitoris mutilated... (it looked) like a burn," Patino said.
- Byproduct of slave trade - 
According to the United Nations, an estimated 230 million women and girls around the world are subjected to FGM every year.
In Colombia, the practice is believed to be the product of intermingling between Indigenous and Afro-Colombians who make up around 10 percent of the population but who very rarely still practice FGM.
Carolina Giraldo (no relation of Francia), a historian and Embera congresswoman who drafted the ban on FGM, said it pains her "when people call us (the Embera) murderers and ignorant" over genital cutting.
She hopes to see "women who advocate for women's rights" travel to remote areas to campaign for an end to the silent suffering of Indigenous girls.
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US

Trump tells AFP Iran deal close, 'no sticking points' left

BY DANNY KEMP

  • Asked what the remaining sticking points for a deal were, Trump told AFP: "No sticking points at all."
  • US President Donald Trump signaled Friday that an Iran peace deal was all but done, telling AFP there were "no sticking points" left between Washington and Tehran.
  • Asked what the remaining sticking points for a deal were, Trump told AFP: "No sticking points at all."
US President Donald Trump signaled Friday that an Iran peace deal was all but done, telling AFP there were "no sticking points" left between Washington and Tehran.
Trump's comments came after a slew of social media posts in which he touted Iran's promise to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and progress on ending Iran's nuclear program.
"We're very close. Looks like it's going to be very good for everybody. And we're very close to having a deal," Trump said in a brief telephone interview with AFP from Las Vegas.
"The strait's going to be open, they already are open. And things are going very well."
Iran had earlier said it was opening the Hormuz strait -- a crucial sea lane whose closure caused global oil prices to spike -- for the duration of a Middle East ceasefire.
On his Truth Social site, Trump said "THANK YOU!" to Iran -- while insisting that an American blockade of Iranian ports would remain in "full force" until completion of a peace deal.
"Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again. It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World," Trump said in one of around a dozen Friday morning posts.
Touting further progress towards a deal, Trump also said Iran was removing sea mines from the strait, with US help.
A first round of US-Iran talks in Pakistan led by Vice President JD Vance last weekend ended without a peace deal, but Trump has said a second round could happen soon.
Trump says the core US demand is that Iran should never be able to develop a nuclear weapon, and he said on Thursday that Iran had agreed to turn over its stock of enriched uranium.
Asked what the remaining sticking points for a deal were, Trump told AFP: "No sticking points at all."
When asked why he was unable to declare a deal at this point after his string of optimistic posts, Trump added: "I don't do that, I get it in writing."

Nuclear 'dust'

In his social media posts, Trump again talked up the likelihood of a nuclear deal while insisting that no money would change hands after an Axios report that Washington was considering a $20 billion cash-for-uranium exchange.
"The U.S.A. will get all Nuclear 'Dust,' created by our great B2 Bombers - No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form," Trump said in another post.
Trump's upbeat comments to AFP came after he struck a celebratory tone on social media, hailing a "GREAT AND BRILLIANT DAY FOR THE WORLD!"
Trump also gave shout-outs to mediator Pakistan and Gulf allies whose countries have come under attack from Iran since the US-Israel military operation started on February 28.
But Trump delivered a fresh slap-down to NATO over the Western military alliance's refusal to join the Iran war or to contribute to a mission in the Strait of Hormuz until hostilities are over.
"I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL," Trump said on Truth Social.
Trump meanwhile also talked up a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, saying Israel was now "prohibited" by Washington from bombing its neighbor.
The Lebanon conflict, triggered when Iran-backed Hezbollah struck Israel in response to the US-Israeli war on Iran, was widely regarded as a roadblock for any Iran deal.
"Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!!" said Trump, who had first announced the truce on Thursday.
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