politics

Russian oil tanker docks in Cuba after US blockade relief

politics

Russian oil tanker docks in Cuba after US blockade relief

BY LISANDRA COTS IN MATANZAS, CUBA, WITH LAURENT THOMET IN HAVANA

  • The Anatoly Kolodkin, a tanker under US sanctions, entered the port of Matanzas, east of Havana, after sunrise to bring 730,000 barrels of crude following a three-week journey from Russia.
  • A Russian oil tanker docked in a Cuban port on Tuesday to deliver the first crude shipment to the crisis-hit island since January after Washington gave a reprieve from its fuel blockade.
  • The Anatoly Kolodkin, a tanker under US sanctions, entered the port of Matanzas, east of Havana, after sunrise to bring 730,000 barrels of crude following a three-week journey from Russia.
A Russian oil tanker docked in a Cuban port on Tuesday to deliver the first crude shipment to the crisis-hit island since January after Washington gave a reprieve from its fuel blockade.
The Anatoly Kolodkin, a tanker under US sanctions, entered the port of Matanzas, east of Havana, after sunrise to bring 730,000 barrels of crude following a three-week journey from Russia.
US President Donald Trump's decision to let Russia deliver the oil avoids a confrontation with Moscow and provides temporary relief to a country that has endured blackouts, fuel rationing and dwindling public transportation.
"It's great that the country is receiving oil because we need it for the crisis we are facing," Yoanna Rivero, a 49-year-old pharmacy worker who was exercising near the port, told AFP.
Felipe Serrano, a 76-year-old security guard, was waiting for the Russian ship to arrive.
"This is crucial for us to be able to survive because the country is paralyzed," he said.
Analysts, however, said the shipment would give Cuba only a brief respite.
"It can offer temporary breathing room, but it does not come close to resolving the scale of the deficit the country is facing," Ricardo Torres, a Cuban economist at American University in Washington, told AFP.
"It is clearly not enough," he said, noting Cuba's power problems are "structural rather than episodic."
The Russian crude will be refined to produce gasoline for transportation as well as diesel and fuel oil for backup power generators, Irenaldo Perez, deputy director of the state-run oil firm CUPET, told official media.
Analysts say it could take around three weeks to refine and distribute.
The Cuban foreign ministry thanked Russia for its solidarity, saying on X "this valuable assistance arrives amid the energy blockade imposed by the United States, which is trying to strangle the Cuban people."
The Russian embassy in Cuba said on X it was its "duty to help our Cuban brothers under these difficult conditions!"

Drive system 'to brink'

Trump, who has mused about "taking" communist-ruled Cuba, said Sunday that he did not object to Russia or others sending oil to the island because Cubans "have to survive."
The White House denied that there was any change to US sanctions policy.
"We allowed this ship to reach Cuba in order to provide humanitarian needs to the Cuban people. These decisions are being made on a case-by-case basis," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
The Kremlin said the shipment was discussed in advanced with Washington.
Cuba was cut off from oil supplies in January after US forces ousted its main regional ally, Venezuela's socialist leader Nicolas Maduro, and Trump threatened tariffs on countries that send crude to the country.
While Trump has warned that "Cuba is next," President Miguel Diaz-Canel confirmed in March that Cuban and US officials had held talks.
Ricardo Herrero, executive director of the Cuba Study Group, a nonpartisan policy group in Washington, said the aim of restricting oil was to force Havana "to make real concessions at the negotiating table."
"The strategy here is to drive the system to the brink," Herrero told AFP. "But it's not to precipitate a full-blown societal or humanitarian collapse."
"It's all consistent with idea that the US holds all the cards and they'll decide when to hold, when to fold and when they go all in," he said.

Just 'another donation'

Cubans have endured seven nationwide blackouts since 2024, including two in March, and fuel prices have soared.
The blackouts as well as persistent shortages of food and medicine have fueled public frustration and some rare protests.
Herrero said the shipment was just "another donation" by Cuba's Russian ally, but he doubted that Moscow would want to subsidize the Cuban economy in the long term.
"This is not going to help the economy recover," he said. "This is just humanitarian aid."
lis-lt/des

Global Edition

Dizzying month on markets with Middle East war

BY FLORIAN CAZERES

  • - Sovereign yields climb - With inflation set to surge on higher oil prices investors have demanded higher yields on government bonds.
  • Oil prices soaring, bond yields climbing and equities slumping... financial markets saw dizzying movements in March thanks to the war in the Middle East.
  • - Sovereign yields climb - With inflation set to surge on higher oil prices investors have demanded higher yields on government bonds.
Oil prices soaring, bond yields climbing and equities slumping... financial markets saw dizzying movements in March thanks to the war in the Middle East.

Oil prices on fire, stagflation stalks

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude transited before the war, sent oil prices skyrocketing. 
The price of Brent crude, the benchmark international oil contract, soared nearly 50 percent.
That is a record monthly gain since Bloomberg began compiling data on oil prices in 1988.
WTI, the benchmark US oil contract, closed above the symbolic level of $100 per barrel on Monday. It could see its biggest monthly gain since 2020.
Economist Sylvain Bersinger called it a "mini oil shock".
The surge in oil prices raises the risk of stagflation, a period of high inflation and feeble growth that central banks find difficult to handle, as lowering interest rates to support growth feeds inflation while raising rates provokes a recession. 

Stocks in the red

Stocks slumped as soaring oil prices are bad for economic growth. 
In Europe, where indices were flirting with record levels, pulled sharply lower.
The CAC 40 index in Paris fell 8.9 percent in March, its worst monthly performance since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. 
The Stoxx Europe 600 index, which includes the largest companies on the continent, and Frankfurt's DAX, both turned in their worst monthly performance since June 2022.
In Asia, Tokyo fell 13.2 percent and Seoul tumbled 19.1 percent.
Wall Street's main indices were heading towards monthly losses of around seven percent.

Dollar strengthens

The dollar strengthened as investors sought it out as a safe haven asset. It gained 2.4 percent versus the euro in March. It had been falling in previous months over concerns about US President Donald Trump's policies.
The dollar also benefitted from being the currency used to trade oil. Higher prices meant countries needed to purchase more dollars to buy oil.
The US economy's self-sufficiency in oil and gas also means it is likely to feel less the consequences of an oil shock. 
Some investors "sold all their holdings to move their money to the United States," said Eric Bleines, deputy director at Swiss Life Gestion privee, a wealth management firm.

Sovereign yields climb

With inflation set to surge on higher oil prices investors have demanded higher yields on government bonds.
The German 10-year Bund is the reference in the eurozone. It rose to above three percent -- its highest level since 2011 -- compared to 2.7 percent before the war. 
The rate on 10-year French government bonds rose above 3.7 percent, hitting levels unseen since 2009, potentially complicating the government's efforts to bring down the budget deficit as debt financing costs rise.
- Volatility - 
Markets were also stuck by severe volatility as Trump's zig-zagging positions, sometimes within the same appearance, yanked prices in different directions.
Trump's numerous threats against Iran sometimes prompted investors to make so-called TACO trades -- Trump Always Chickens Out -- betting that the US president would not follow through. 
They didn't always pan out as Trump continued to prosecute the war.
"Things can go in any direction, every day," said ING analyst Vincent Juvyns.
He urged investors to keep their cool.
"Historically, over the long term, markets recover following geopolitical shocks," he said.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya at Swissquote Bank said markets will continue to be driven by headlines and movements in oil prices.
"Until there is meaningful progress toward peace, any rebound in equities, bonds or gold is likely to remain fragile," she said.
fcz/rl/giv

US

Middle East war: global economic fallout

  • - EU says 'necessary' to reduce fuel demand - The EU urged member states Tuesday to try to push down domestic demand for fuel and prepare to secure oil supplies, warning of potentially prolonged effects of the Middle East war on energy prices.
  • Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war: - Oil prices drop - Oil prices fell on Tuesday after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday his country had the "necessary will" to end the ongoing war with Israel and the United States, but was seeking guarantees that the conflict would not be repeated.
  • - EU says 'necessary' to reduce fuel demand - The EU urged member states Tuesday to try to push down domestic demand for fuel and prepare to secure oil supplies, warning of potentially prolonged effects of the Middle East war on energy prices.
Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war:

Oil prices drop

Oil prices fell on Tuesday after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday his country had the "necessary will" to end the ongoing war with Israel and the United States, but was seeking guarantees that the conflict would not be repeated.
Crude was still trading well above $100 a barrel, however.

Trump threatens Kharg hub

Trump threatened to destroy Iran's Kharg Island oil export hub if a deal to end the war was not reached soon and the Strait of Hormuz did not "immediately" open.
The island, located around 30 kilometres (19 miles) off the Iranian mainland, handles roughly 90 percent of Iran's crude exports, according to a JP Morgan note released early March. 

Desalination plant hit

Strikes have knocked out a desalination plant on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported, without saying when the attack took place.
"One of the desalination plants on Qeshm Island was targeted... and is now completely out of service, as it is not possible to repair it in the short term," the ISNA news agency reported, quoting health ministry official Mohsen Farhadi.

China ships transit

China's foreign ministry thanked "the relevant parties" on Tuesday for helping three Chinese ships to transit out of the Strait of Hormuz.
Two container vessels belonging to shipping giant Cosco passed through the strait on Monday, tracking data showed. Beijing gave no detail on the third ship.

Eurozone inflation

Eurozone inflation leapt to 2.5 percent in March, the highest level since January 2025, owing to surging energy prices caused by the Middle East war.

Asia war woes

Asia faces the gravest fallout from the war and is confronting a major energy crisis, the head of global maritime analytics firm Kpler told AFP on Tuesday.
Jean Maynier said the continent did not have enough energy resources to cover the gap, adding: "It will not be enough in China, it will not be enough to cover in big countries like the Philippines or Indonesia. So it's a real energy crisis."

Indonesia rations fuel, rebuffs price hikes

Indonesia on Tuesday announced fuel rationing and mandated work from home for civil servants as it seeks to conserve energy stocks amid global price hikes due to the Middle East war.
It earlier said it would not increase fuel prices despite rising budget pressures from the war.

Kuwait tanker blaze

An Iranian attack sparked a fire on a Kuwaiti oil tanker at Dubai Port, state media reported on Tuesday. There were no injuries, according to the report, and Dubai authorities later said firefighters had extinguished the blaze.
Maritime intelligence agency Vanguard and ship tracker MarineTraffic identified the ship as the Al Salmi, a 332-metre (1090-feet) long Kuwait-flagged crude tanker.

Ethiopia rations fuel

Ethiopia will prioritise vehicles transporting essential goods and those in the public transport sector at fuel stations as the country grapples with shortages caused by the Middle East war, authorities said Tuesday.

Sri Lanka hikes electricity

Sri Lanka announced a nearly 40 percent increase in electricity prices from Wednesday as it battles an energy shortage caused by the war in the Middle East.
Sri Lanka has raised fuel prices three times this month, increasing them by more than a third, and has imposed a four-day working week in a bid to save energy.

EU says 'necessary' to reduce fuel demand

The EU urged member states Tuesday to try to push down domestic demand for fuel and prepare to secure oil supplies, warning of potentially prolonged effects of the Middle East war on energy prices.
The European Commission has repeatedly said supplies are not an issue at this stage for the 27-nation bloc, but high prices are a matter of concern.

Lithuania chops train ticket prices

Lithuania announced it would slash the price of domestic train tickets by half to provide travellers some respite from soaring fuel prices triggered by the war in the Middle East.
The 50 percent reduction will apply from April 1 to May 31 on all domestic routes and for all classes, public rail operator LTG announced in a joint statement with the transportation ministry. 
burs-rl/sbk

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • - Riyadh blasts - Multiple explosions rattled the Saudi capital Riyadh, according to an AFP journalist, the latest apparent barrage targeting the city as Iran carries out attacks across the Gulf region. 
  • Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war: - Tehran blasts - An AFP journalist heard a series of explosions in central Tehran, as US-Israeli strikes wore on into their fifth week.
  • - Riyadh blasts - Multiple explosions rattled the Saudi capital Riyadh, according to an AFP journalist, the latest apparent barrage targeting the city as Iran carries out attacks across the Gulf region. 
Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:

Tehran blasts

An AFP journalist heard a series of explosions in central Tehran, as US-Israeli strikes wore on into their fifth week.
AFP journalists also confirmed that air defences had been activated over the capital, including in the north.

UN slams Israel death penalty 'war crime'

The United Nations rights chief slammed the Israeli parliament's approval of a "deeply discriminatory" new death penalty bill for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks, warning that applying it on occupied Palestinian territory "would constitute a war crime".

Canada slams Israel 'illegal invasion'

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney denounced Israel's deployment of troops against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon as an "illegal invasion" that violates its "integrity and sovereignty."

Save fuel, EU says

The EU urged member states to try to push down domestic demand for fuel in the face of surging energy prices caused by the Middle East war.

Trump criticism surprises France

French President Emmanuel Macron's office said Tuesday it was "surprised" by US President Donald Trump's criticism of France as "very unhelpful" after not allowing planes with military supplies to fly over its territory.
"We are surprised by this tweet," the presidency said.

Fresh Beirut attacks

An Israeli strike hit an apartment in Christian-majority Mansourieh, north of Beirut, state media reported, in the first attack on the area since the outbreak of the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Earlier, a strike hit a building adjacent to Beirut's main airport road, AFPTV's live broadcast showed, after the Israeli military warned it would hit a "Hezbollah facility".

Guards threaten US tech

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that they would target leading US technology firms like Apple, Google and Meta if more Iranian leaders were killed in "targeted assassinations".

Israel blamed for killing peacekeepers

A UN security source told AFP that Israeli fire had killed an Indonesian peacekeeper at the weekend, after the UN force said it was investigating the incident.
The source told AFP on condition of anonymity that evidence had been identified that the source of the fire on Sunday was an Israeli tank.

Infantino on Iran

FIFA president Gianni Infantino told AFP that Iran "will be at the World Cup" and will play their group matches in the United States as scheduled, despite the Middle East war.
The war has thrown in doubt Iran's participation at the World Cup, hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11.

Italy refusal

Italy recently denied authorisation for some US aircraft headed to the Middle East on a combat mission to land at its Sigonella base, a defence ministry source and Italian media said.
Under the terms of agreements with the United States, some Italian bases can be used by US military aircraft, but only for logistical purposes, which was denied in this case on the grounds that there was not enough time to get parliament's approval.

Deadly Iraq strike

A strike in western Iraq killed three fighters from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi, the alliance said in a statement, blaming the US and Israel for the attack.
The alliance, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), is now part of Iraq's regular armed forces although it also contains pro-Iran factions.

Riyadh blasts

Multiple explosions rattled the Saudi capital Riyadh, according to an AFP journalist, the latest apparent barrage targeting the city as Iran carries out attacks across the Gulf region. 

'Completely baseless'

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected as "completely baseless" reports that the Islamic republic had fired missiles at Turkey and offered to jointly investigate the issue.  

'Decisive' days

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the next days of the Iran war will be "decisive" while refusing to rule out US ground forces playing a role in the conflict.
Hegseth also revealed during his first news conference in nearly two weeks that he had visited US troops in the Middle East over the weekend, and said that talks on ending the conflict were "gaining strength".

'Take it'

US President Donald Trump said that countries that have not joined the Middle East war but are struggling with fuel shortages should "go get your own oil" in the Strait of Hormuz. 
burs-sbk/giv

diplomacy

Syrian president meets King Charles, Starmer on London visit

  • The UK monarch held an audience with Sharaa on Tuesday afternoon, Buckingham Palace said.
  • King Charles III on Tuesday hosted Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at Buckingham Palace as the former Islamist rebel leader made his first official visit to London and met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
  • The UK monarch held an audience with Sharaa on Tuesday afternoon, Buckingham Palace said.
King Charles III on Tuesday hosted Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at Buckingham Palace as the former Islamist rebel leader made his first official visit to London and met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The UK monarch held an audience with Sharaa on Tuesday afternoon, Buckingham Palace said. Sharaa was making his first visit to Britain since ousting long-time iron-fisted former president Bashar al-Assad in 2024.
Earlier Tuesday, Sharaa discussed the war with Iran in talks with Starmer at Downing Street.
The leaders "discussed the need for a viable plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, in the face of the severe economic impact of prolonged closure, and agreed to work with others to restore freedom of navigation," a Downing Street spokesperson said.
Since Sharaa has been in power, sectarian tensions have continued to cause repeated bloodshed in Syria, while the Islamic State group remains at large.
Starmer said he welcomed the Syrian government's "action" against Islamic State and noted progress on counter-terrorism, the spokesperson said.
The British prime minister urged "closer work together on returns (of illegal migrants), on border security, and on tackling people smuggling networks".
Between 2011 and 2021, nearly 31,000 Syrians were granted asylum in Britain after the civil war there sparked a refugee crisis, according to government statistics.
The president's visit came after London announced the resumption of diplomatic relations with Syria in July 2025.
It followed a visit by then foreign minister David Lammy to Damascus, the first visit to Syria by a British minister in 14 years.
The British government said at the time that its engagement with Damascus was aimed at supporting the country's political transition and assisting economic recovery as well as reducing illegal migration, and addressing the issue of chemical weapons.
Sharaa met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Monday, as he seeks to keep Syria insulated from the repercussions of the current Middle East war.
Europe's top economy is home to the largest Syrian diaspora in the European Union at more than a million, many of whom arrived during the peak of the migrant influx in 2015-2016.
Merz, who has made a tougher immigration policy a priority since taking office last year, said he and Sharaa had agreed eight out of 10 Syrians in Germany should go back "over the next three years".
am/jkb/ach 

LGBTQ

US Supreme Court rules against ban on 'conversion therapy' for LGBTQ minors

  • But in a 8-1 decision, the court ruled in favor of Kaley Chiles, a licensed mental health counselor who invoked her Christian faith and challenged the law, arguing that it violated her First Amendment right of free speech.
  • The US Supreme Court ruled Tuesday against a Colorado state law banning "conversion therapy" for LGBTQ minors, siding with a Christian therapist who challenged it on the grounds of free speech.
  • But in a 8-1 decision, the court ruled in favor of Kaley Chiles, a licensed mental health counselor who invoked her Christian faith and challenged the law, arguing that it violated her First Amendment right of free speech.
The US Supreme Court ruled Tuesday against a Colorado state law banning "conversion therapy" for LGBTQ minors, siding with a Christian therapist who challenged it on the grounds of free speech.
At issue is the constitutionality of a 2019 Colorado law that prohibits licensed practitioners from conducting "conversion therapy" on patients under 18.
Proponents of the treatment claim to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ people.
The therapy has been discredited by major medical organizations, including the American Psychiatric Association and the American Medical Association, and is banned in more than 20 US states and much of Europe.
Research has shown that it is ineffective and even harmful, leading to depression and suicidal thoughts.
But in a 8-1 decision, the court ruled in favor of Kaley Chiles, a licensed mental health counselor who invoked her Christian faith and challenged the law, arguing that it violated her First Amendment right of free speech.
"Colorado's law addressing conversion therapy does not just ban physical interventions. In cases like this, it censors speech based on viewpoint," wrote conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch in the decision on behalf of the majority of the Court.
"As applied to Ms. Chiles, Colorado’s law regulates the content of her speech and goes further to prescribe what views she may and may not express, discriminating on the basis of viewpoint," he argued.
The First Amendment, Gorsuch wrote, is a "shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country."
As a result, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower courts to review their decisions in light of this ruling.

'Can of worms'

Only the liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson expressed dissent, accusing her colleagues of opening "a dangerous can of worms" by undermining states' ability to regulate medical practices that "risks grave harm to Americans' health and wellbeing."
"The Constitution does not pose a barrier to reasonable regulation of harmful medical treatments just because substandard care comes via speech instead of scalpel," she wrote.
Chiles' lawyer, James Campbell, of the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom, hailed the ruling in a statement as "a significant win for free speech, common sense, and families desperate to help their children."
But Equality California, an LGBTQ civil rights organization, condemned the ruling, saying in a statement, "The Supreme Court is moving our country backward and into dangerously uncharted territory."
Children who have undergone conversion therapy "were taught to feel shame and self-hatred. Survivors continue to suffer from PTSD, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. As one survivor put it, conversion therapy came close to killing me," the statement said.
The group also warned that the ruling could have a "far broader" impact if "extended to vaccines, psychiatric medicine, and abortion and contraception."
After taking office for his second term in January, President Donald Trump said the US government would only recognize two genders -- male and female -- and signed an executive order restricting gender transition medical procedures for people under the age of 19.
In June, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to uphold a Tennessee state law banning hormone therapy, puberty blockers and gender transition surgery for minors.
Conversion therapies are banned, at least partially, in many countries, with the support of health organizations such as the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Great Britain. 
The UN has called for a global ban, describing them as discriminatory, humiliating and a violation of individuals' bodily integrity.
sst/ube/mjf/bgs

Global Edition

Stocks rise on peace hopes, oil mixed

  • US President Donald Trump continued to inject uncertainty into the markets with comments Tuesday that nations struggling with fuel shortages should "go get your own oil" in the Strait of Hormuz.
  • US and European stocks rose Tuesday on hopes for a quick end to the Middle East war, while oil prices traded mixed amid the continuing uncertainty.
  • US President Donald Trump continued to inject uncertainty into the markets with comments Tuesday that nations struggling with fuel shortages should "go get your own oil" in the Strait of Hormuz.
US and European stocks rose Tuesday on hopes for a quick end to the Middle East war, while oil prices traded mixed amid the continuing uncertainty.
Wall Street's main indices were showing strong gains in late morning trading in New York, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq up 1.8 percent.
The equities "market has been energized by a report that the president is willing to end the war with Iran, even if the Strait of Hormuz is not fully open", said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
He called the response peculiar as this would not ensure a resumption of oil shipments, but noted the stock market is currently oversold on a short-term basis. 
"The headline material suggesting the US is traveling toward an off-ramp is enough to prompt some short-covering activity and some speculation wrapped up in the thought of not wanting to miss a rebound effort," said O'Hare. 
Investors who short stocks -- bet on a fall -- rush to purchase stocks if they believe prices will rise in order to avoid losses.
O'Hare said oil prices would be the true indication of whether the off-ramp is real or a dead end.
"The US may want to be done with Iran, but if the Strait of Hormuz is not fully open, the Iran issue will not be done with upsetting the global economy," he said. 
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in June -- its most traded contract -- was flat at $107.41 per barrel.
But the international benchmark's contract for May, which expires Tuesday, stood at $118.76 per barrel, up 5.3 percent.
The June contract better reflects market dynamics while May' translates the need for immediate deliveries.
The benchmark US contract, WTI, climbed 1.2 percent to $104.10 per barrel.
The head of a maritime analyst group meanwhile warned in an interview with AFP that Asia is confronting a major energy crisis, as it faces the gravest fallout from the war.
"We think Asia will, for now, be the ones suffering the most," Kpler president Jean Maynier told AFP at the company's offices in Singapore.
US President Donald Trump continued to inject uncertainty into the markets with comments Tuesday that nations struggling with fuel shortages should "go get your own oil" in the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil "remains painfully high for economies to deal with", noted Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.
In a sign Trump will likely face pressure to act to bring crude prices down, the American Automobile Association said US petrol prices jumped above an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Market experts warn that any US ground operation or wider Iranian retaliation could send oil prices to levels not seen since July 2008, when Brent hit almost $150 per barrel.
"The question is no longer how high oil spikes, but how long elevated energy costs bleed into growth, margins, and consumption," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.
European stocks rose despite data showing eurozone inflation leapt in March because of surging energy prices caused by the conflict, hitting its highest level since January 2025.
Consumer prices rose by 2.5 percent in March, sharply up from 1.9 percent in February, the EU's statistics agency said.
Asia's main stock markets closed mixed.

Key figures at around 1530 GMT

Brent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $107.41 a barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.2 percent at $104.10 a barrel
New York - Dow: UP 1.0 percent at 45,655.35 points
New York - S&P 500: UP 1.3 percent at 6,427.22
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.8 percent at 21,164.71 
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 10,176.45 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.6 percent at 7,816.94 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 22,680.04 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.6 percent at 51,063.72 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 24,788.14 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,891.86 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1523 from $1.1460 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3202 from $1.3183
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.00 from 159.69 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 87.31 pence from 86.93 pence
burs-rl/sbk

rescue

German whale saga continues as struggling animal beached again

  • After initially freeing itself from a beach close to the city of Wismar on Monday, the animal became stuck in shallow waters again on Tuesday.
  • A humpback whale that experts have been trying to coax out of shallow waters off the German coast has become trapped on a sandbank for the fourth time, rescuers said Tuesday.
  • After initially freeing itself from a beach close to the city of Wismar on Monday, the animal became stuck in shallow waters again on Tuesday.
A humpback whale that experts have been trying to coax out of shallow waters off the German coast has become trapped on a sandbank for the fourth time, rescuers said Tuesday.
After initially freeing itself from a beach close to the city of Wismar on Monday, the animal became stuck in shallow waters again on Tuesday.
The 13.5-metre (44-foot) animal has been struggling in the area for more than a week, having first been spotted in the early hours of March 23 near the city of Luebeck.
The latest developments demonstrate "just how weakened" and "in need of rest" the whale is, Thilo Maack from Greenpeace told journalists in Wismar. 
But the environment minister for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Till Backhaus, said rescuers were not ready to give up as long as the whale was still showing signs of wanting to swim.
"I'm keeping my fingers crossed and I hope we'll still get a happy ending," he said.
After the whale initially became stuck near the city of Luebeck last week, rescuers tried to free it by making waves and digging a channel with excavators.
The creature eventually managed to free itself from the sandbank but ran into further difficulty after swimming eastwards.
It became stuck on sandbanks near Wismar twice over the weekend, and experts warned that its breathing rate had reduced.
Since the Baltic is not its natural habitat, experts are hoping it will make its way back to the North Sea and then on to the Atlantic.
The whale is believed to be suffering from skin problems due to the lower level of salt content in the Baltic Sea compared to the open ocean.
It is possible the whale came into the Baltic Sea following a shoal of fish or having been distracted by the noise of a submarine.
bur-vbw-fec/jsk/st

LGBTQ

Senegal enacts law doubling penalty for same-sex relations

BY BECCA MILFELD

  • The law punishes "acts against nature", a term used to signify same-sex relations, by five to 10 years' imprisonment, compared with one to five years previously.
  • Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has signed into law legislation doubling the maximum penalty for same-sex relations, making them punishable by up to 10 years in prison amid a crackdown on the country's gay community.
  • The law punishes "acts against nature", a term used to signify same-sex relations, by five to 10 years' imprisonment, compared with one to five years previously.
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has signed into law legislation doubling the maximum penalty for same-sex relations, making them punishable by up to 10 years in prison amid a crackdown on the country's gay community.
The law, which was signed Monday and appeared in the official journal that was distributed Tuesday, passed by an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly and also includes criminal penalties for those found guilty of promoting or financing same-sex relationships.
UN rights chief Volker Turk called the law "deeply worrying" after its passage in parliament and said that it "flies in the face of the sacrosanct human rights".
The law punishes "acts against nature", a term used to signify same-sex relations, by five to 10 years' imprisonment, compared with one to five years previously.
It also provides for three to seven years in prison for those found guilty of promoting or financing same-sex relationships.
According to media reports, dozens of men have been arrested under the anti-LGBTQ laws since February, when police detained 12 men, including two local celebrities, the start of a spate of detentions.
Arrests have often been based on accusations and phone searches, which are reported almost daily, with the names of those detained made public.
The new law additionally penalises anyone who accuses another of same-sex offences "without proof".
After debating for several hours, lawmakers approved the bill by a vote of 135 in favour, zero opposed and three abstentions on March 11.
Under the law, the maximum sentence will be handed down if the act was committed with a minor.
Punishment will additionally include fines from two million to 10 million CFA francs ($3,500 to $17,600), compared to 100,000 to 1.5 million CFA francs previously.
- 'Deeply concerned' - 
Several human rights organisations had called on Faye not to sign the bill, although the response to Senegal's legislation has so far been muted compared to reaction against other recent anti-LGBTQ bills in Africa.
Among them was UNAIDS, which said it was "deeply concerned" by the bill and that criminalisation only "causes people to turn away from health services" such as those for HIV.
LGBTQ rights group ILGA World had also called on Faye not to sign, urging him to uphold "respect for individual liberty and the human person".
In recent years, LGBTQ issues have stirred controversy in Senegal, where gay rights advocacy is frequently denounced as a tool used by Westerners to impose foreign values.
Religious associations in the Muslim-majority west African country have staged demonstrations to demand tougher penalties.
Ousmane Sonko, before becoming Senegal's highly influential prime minister in 2024, had promised to make same-sex relations a crime, upping the offence from its current classification as misdemeanour.
However, the new law, which Sonko himself presented to parliament, maintains the same misdemeanour status.
At least 32 out of Africa's 54 countries have laws on the books prohibiting and punishing same-sex relations.
The death penalty is imposed in Uganda, Mauritania and Somalia.
Approximately 10 countries or territories impose sentences ranging from 10 years to life in prison, including Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania and Sierra Leone.
bur-bfm/kjm

Israel

Trump says other countries should 'just take' the Strait of Hormuz

BY W.G. DUNLOP

  • In a Truth Social post, Trump said countries "that refused to get involved" should "build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT," adding that the United States would not help them.  
  • US President Donald Trump said Tuesday the countries that have not joined the Middle East war but are struggling with fuel shortages should "go get your own oil" in the Strait of Hormuz. 
  • In a Truth Social post, Trump said countries "that refused to get involved" should "build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT," adding that the United States would not help them.  
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday the countries that have not joined the Middle East war but are struggling with fuel shortages should "go get your own oil" in the Strait of Hormuz. 
In a Truth Social post, Trump said countries "that refused to get involved" should "build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT," adding that the United States would not help them.  
"The U.S.A. won't be there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!"
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed that message during a news conference on Tuesday.
"This is an international waterway that we use less than most, in fact dramatically less than most," Hegseth said.
"It's not just our problem set, going forward, even though we have done the lion's share of preparation to ensure that that strait will be open," he said.
Hegseth also said that the next days of the Iran war will be "decisive," while refusing to rule out US ground forces playing a role in the conflict.
"The upcoming days will be decisive. Iran knows that, and there's almost nothing they can militarily do about it," Hegseth said.
Asked about concerns among some of President Donald Trump's base about the possible use of ground troops in Iran, Hegseth declined to tip his hand.

Iran talks 'gaining strength'

"You can't fight and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do, or what you are not willing to do, to include boots on the ground," he said.
"If we needed to, we could execute those options on behalf of the president of the United States and this department. Or maybe we don't have to use them at all -- maybe negotiations work," Hegseth said.
The Pentagon chief said talks on ending the war were making progress even as the more than month-long US-Israeli military campaign against the Islamic republic continued.
"They are very real. They are ongoing, they are active, and I think, gaining strength," Hegseth said of the negotiations.
He also said he had made an unannounced trip to visit US troops taking part in operations against Iran.
"We were on the ground in CENTCOM on Saturday for about half the day. For reasons of operational security, so those troops are not targeted, the places and bases will not be named," Hegseth said, referring to the US command responsible for the region.
"Suffice it to say, the trip was an honor. I had a chance to bear witness, and I witnessed the best of America," he said.
General Dan Caine -- the top US military officer -- spoke alongside Hegseth, saying that US forces have struck more than 11,000 targets so far.
The United States "continues to destroy Iran's ballistic missile and (drone) capabilities. We remain focused on interdicting and destroying the logistical and supply chains that feed these programs," he said.
bur-wd/ksb

US

In Beirut's largest stadium, displaced people with disabilities face 'ordeal'

BY MARGAUX BERGEY

  • More than a million people have been displaced and Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,200 people, including 124 children, Lebanese authorities say.
  • In the stands of Beirut's largest stadium, it is the shouts of children displaced by war that echo, not the songs of fans. 
  • More than a million people have been displaced and Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,200 people, including 124 children, Lebanese authorities say.
In the stands of Beirut's largest stadium, it is the shouts of children displaced by war that echo, not the songs of fans. 
Beneath the concrete steps, more than a thousand people fleeing Israeli bombs on Lebanon sleep in tents, including around 50 wheelchair users and people with other mobility challenges. 
The vast sports complex is one of the few shelters able to take in people with disabilities, despite being poorly adapted to their needs. 
"If there's a strike, the people around me could run away and leave me behind; I can't get up and move if no one helps me," said 62-year-old Fatima Nazli, who uses a wheelchair. 
The state has not put in place any strategy to evacuate people with disabilities, said Sylvana Lakkis, head of the Lebanese Union for People with Physical Disabilities. 
"We submitted a policy and proposal" to the government, but "they never listened", she told AFP. 
"Every time there is a crisis, we, people with disabilities pay the price." 
Nazli and her husband had to leave their apartment in Beirut's southern suburbs, an area that has been struck repeatedly by Israel since Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war on March 2. 
They are living in a tent in a section of the stadium where she is forced to ask Red Cross volunteers for help to get down the flight of steps leading to the only bathrooms she can access. 
– 'Living in constant fear' –
The couple expects to move to another section of the stadium, where two access ramps and four accessible toilets were recently installed. 
In the meantime, Nazli and her husband, Abu Ali, who did not wish to give his full name, go back to their apartment from time to time to take a shower and pick up clean clothes, gripped by fear because the neighbourhood "could be bombed at any moment" by the Israeli air force.
The Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, on the edge of Beirut's southern suburbs, has witnessed the twists and turns of Lebanon's troubled history. 
Destroyed by bombing during the Israeli invasion in 1982 and rebuilt after the end of the civil war in 1990, it has fallen into disrepair due to a lack of funds for its upkeep.
Football legend Pele once trod its turf, and international sporting competitions have been held there. 
But the stadium has also served as a warehouse for food supplies, and Hezbollah held the lavish funeral there for its former leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by Israel in September 2024. 
– 'An ordeal' –
"This place was not built to be lived in," said stadium director Naji Hammoud, who opened its doors "the next day" after the first evacuation warnings issued by the Israeli army in the southern suburbs in early March.
More than a million people have been displaced and Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,200 people, including 124 children, Lebanese authorities say.
Many displaced people are sleeping on the streets of the capital or in their cars, and Hammoud said he wants the facility to take in "as many as possible".
Around the tents, workers are busy renovating the unsanitary restrooms, installing showers and connecting them to the water supply, and hooking up electricity.
"I can't wash myself on my own, I need help," said Khodr Salem, a shopkeeper from the south of the country, who has difficulty walking and uses a crutch because of an infection in his leg. 
"We lived like kings in our homes. Our life has become an ordeal," the old man said through tears, sitting on a mattress in his tent. 
For Lakkis, Lebanon doesn't have enough accessible shelters: the few schools able to receive people with disabilities fill up quickly.
She called on authorities "to make at least one inclusive shelter in each district".
Lacking options, many displaced people therefore have to find relatives who can host them or pay exorbitant rents to landlords, explained Fadi Al-Halabi, executive director in Lebanon of the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network. 
"The international community must take into account the needs of people with disabilities" and allocate a share of the international aid budget to them, he said. 
vid-mby/ris/lg/ser

US

Next days in Iran war will be 'decisive': Pentagon chief

  • "The upcoming days will be decisive.
  • Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the next days of the Iran war will be "decisive" while refusing to rule out US ground forces playing a role in the conflict.
  • "The upcoming days will be decisive.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the next days of the Iran war will be "decisive" while refusing to rule out US ground forces playing a role in the conflict.
Hegseth also revealed during a news conference -- his first in nearly two weeks -- that he had visited US troops in the Middle East over the weekend, and said that talks on ending the conflict were "gaining strength."
"The upcoming days will be decisive. Iran knows that, and there's almost nothing they can militarily do about it," Hegseth said.
Asked about concerns among some of President Donald Trump's base about the possible use of ground troops in Iran, Hegseth declined to tip his hand.
"You can't fight and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do, or what you are not willing to do, to include boots on the ground," he said.
"If we needed to, we could execute those options on behalf of the president of the United States and this department. Or maybe we don't have to use them at all -- maybe negotiations work," Hegseth said.
The Pentagon chief said talks on ending the war were making progress even as the more than month-long US-Israeli military campaign against the Islamic republic continued.
"They are very real. They are ongoing, they are active, and I think, gaining strength," Hegseth said of the negotiations.
He also said he had made an unannounced trip to visit US troops taking part in operations against Iran.
"We were on the ground in CENTCOM on Saturday for about half the day. For reasons of operational security, so those troops are not targeted, the places and bases will not be named," Hegseth said, referring to the US command responsible for the region.
"Suffice it to say, the trip was an honor. I had a chance to bear witness, and I witnessed the best of America," he said.
General Dan Caine -- the top US military officer -- spoke alongside Hegseth, saying that US forces have struck more than 11,000 targets so far.
The United States "continues to destroy Iran's ballistic missile and (drone) capabilities. We remain focused on interdicting and destroying the logistical and supply chains that feed these programs," he said.
And "we continue to assert dominance over the Iranian navy. We remain focused on targeting their mine laying capability, their naval assets," Caine added.
es-wd/ksb

army

Deposed and detained: Niger president's fate unclear nearly three years on

BY MARIETOU BÂ

  • Bazoum's presidential immunity was lifted in 2024 but his lawyers believe it unlikely that the official end of his term in office will accelerate him being put on trial.
  • The presidential term of Niger's overthrown leader Mohamed Bazoum officially ends Thursday, but he faces little prospect of freedom from detention or even a trial, making what comes next uncertain. 
  • Bazoum's presidential immunity was lifted in 2024 but his lawyers believe it unlikely that the official end of his term in office will accelerate him being put on trial.
The presidential term of Niger's overthrown leader Mohamed Bazoum officially ends Thursday, but he faces little prospect of freedom from detention or even a trial, making what comes next uncertain. 
Bazoum, 66, was sworn in as president on April 2, 2021 after democratic elections in which he won 55 percent of the vote. 
He has been held in a wing of the presidential palace in Niamey with his wife since the junta led by general Abdourahamane Tiani seized power in the west African country on July 26, 2023.
Since being toppled he has refused to step down.
His lawyers argue that April 2 should no longer mark the formal end of his term in office, given he has not been allowed to carry out the role for nearly three years.
"His term was interrupted and did not resume. If Mr Bazoum returns to power tomorrow, the duration of his detention will not be taken into account in the exercise of his duties," Moussa Coulibaly, a member of a lawyers' collective representing Bazoum, told AFP.
Political researcher Valery Ntwali, who specialises in sub-Saharan coups d'etat, said that, based on Niger law, the deposed head of state had however "lost his legality since the constitution on which he was elected was suspended".
The junta halted the constitution and replaced it with a charter adopted in March last year that allows it to stay in power for another -- and renewable -- five years. No elections have been held since the coup.
It remains unclear which law prevails -- that of the military junta that took power by force, or the one in place before the putsch.
"There's no international authority imposing its view. Rather, there are national authorities who will negotiate with the junta and others that do not recognise it," Ntwali said.

'Failure'

While Niger's junta -- like those in its neighbours and allies Burkina Faso and Mali -- has made sovereignty its watchword and has adopted a hostile stance towards some Western nations, it is not entirely isolated on the international stage.
It recently resumed contact with the United States on security cooperation, two years after forcing US soldiers involved in the anti-jihadist battle to leave Niger, while forging closer ties with Russia.
Ties remain cool with former colonial power France, which was swift to call for Bazoum's release, while relations with the European Union are similarly testy.
The European Parliament earlier this month adopted a resolution demanding the immediate release of Bazoum, prompting anger from the Sahelian juntas and demonstrations in both Niamey and to a smaller extent in Ouagadougou.
"It's a failure on the part of the international community, I don't know how we were unable to secure the release of this democratically elected president," French MEP Christophe Gomart, who initiated the resolution at the European Parliament, said.
"Europe carries weight in Africa, it gives money to a number of African countries; the European Union should have exerted pressure," said Gomart, a general and former commander of French special operations including in the Sahel.
The European Union helps fund development programmes and the battle against jihadists, who for years have waged violence in Sahelian countries, including regularly striking in Niger.
Bazoum's presidential immunity was lifted in 2024 but his lawyers believe it unlikely that the official end of his term in office will accelerate him being put on trial.
"For the junta, it's less a question of law than security: what matters to them is that president Bazoum serves as a human shield" in the event of a possible armed intervention, as was once weighed by west African countries, another of his lawyers Mohamed Seydou Diagne said.
After nearly three years, Bazoum is "still held in the same place and in the same conditions" with no windows, doors or visits apart from his doctor, Coulibaly, the lawyer, said.
bam/pid/kjm/st

Israel

Archaeologists forced by Mideast war to cut short Iraq digs

BY ROSE TROUP BUCHANAN

  • "After some days we got kind of used to the rockets and drones above our heads," she said.
  • Iraq is home to ruins from some of the world's earliest civilisations, but teams led by international archaeologists have been forced by drone and rocket attacks in the Middle East war to cut short their expeditions.
  • "After some days we got kind of used to the rockets and drones above our heads," she said.
Iraq is home to ruins from some of the world's earliest civilisations, but teams led by international archaeologists have been forced by drone and rocket attacks in the Middle East war to cut short their expeditions.
Archaeologists told AFP that some of the projects interrupted by the war had been planned for years, but their teams have had to evacuate ancient sites since the United States and Israel attacked Iraq's neighbour, Iran.
Like other countries around the region, Iraq has become engulfed in the war, bringing to an abrupt end a period of nascent stability.
Iraq's precious archaeological sites, some dating back thousands of years, had for years faced threats ranging from climate change to successive conflicts.
Under normal circumstances, around 60 international teams would have been working on digs, a government official told AFP, but "all of these missions have left Iraq".

'Like a musician'

Adelheid Otto of Germany's Ludwig-Maximilians-University started a long-planned dig at ancient Shuruppak, modern-day Tell Fara, on February 28.
That same day, Israel and the US launched strikes against Iran, sparking a war that has dragged Iraqi armed groups into the fray -- and cutting short Otto's work.
"We are Near Eastern archaeologists. So that is our work. That is like a musician who can no longer play an instrument," she told AFP.
Her team -- 18 German archaeologists, geologists, geophysical experts and students and seven Iraqi archaeologists -- initially stayed, reasoning travelling the 750 kilometres (460 miles) overland to Turkey was more dangerous.
"After some days we got kind of used to the rockets and drones above our heads," she said.
But Iraqi officials repeatedly urged them to depart, despite their discovery of ancient cuneiform tablets.
"It is impossible" to leave, she told authorities, insisting on staying extra days. "We have to document it. We have to take photos of everything."
"I told the students you have to work on all the small finds that we have," said Otto, 59, who boasts four decades of experience.
"You never know in any of these countries if you will ever return," she said.

'Guarantors'

Many German institutions had just started relaxing travel restrictions to Iraq after a succession of conflicts, including the 2003 US-led invasion and the extremist Islamic State group.
Now, said Otto, archaeologists once again face being shut out.
Iraq's State Board of Antiquities and Heritage head Ali Obeid Shalgham told AFP Iraqi security forces were the sites' "true guarantors", especially as many are in remote rural areas.
He said the country is installing so-called protective "blue shields" -- nicknamed "the Red Cross of heritage" -- at archaeological sites.
The presence of foreign teams is "crucial", said Aqeel al-Mansrawi, an Iraqi landscape archaeologist.
"They work to protect heritage through conservation," he said.
He also emphasised the training Iraqi experts receive from foreigners, vital after years of isolation and war.
"We are always training a lot of Iraqi archaeologists and colleagues," said Otto, of the German institute.
"If it would be cut again, it would be terrible," she said. 
Foreign digs must work with Iraqi archaeologists, bringing their international expertise.
Shalgham said the arrangement allows Iraqis "to keep up with global advancements in new technologies and state-of-the-art equipment".

'Can't catch a break'

Chicago University professor Augusta McMahon was in southern Iraq, working at the 6,000-year-old Nippur site, when the war began.
Having worked in the Middle East for almost four decades, this was her third evacuation. 
In 2024, she had to leave Iraq, while in 2011, she left Syria.
"We had pressure from a lot of different directions in terms of having to leave," she said, with her eight-person team departing under an Iraqi escort on March 10.
"It is quite frustrating, along with everything else, I feel terribly bad for [my] Iraqi colleagues," she said.
The war has also rippled beyond the immediate: an initiative to finally return the preeminent Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale (RAI) conference to Iraq was cancelled by the University of Baghdad.
The city last attempted to host the event in 1990, according to the university, but it was scrapped with the Gulf War.
"Now 36 years later, they finally pulled themselves together... and its cancelled again," said McMahon, who was due to be presenting.
"It's like they can't catch a break."
bur-rbu/ser

politics

Myanmar lawmakers put junta chief on path to presidency

  • The former commander in chief has led Myanmar since 2021, when he ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and triggered civil war.
  • Myanmar lawmakers elected junta chief Min Aung Hlaing a vice-president on Tuesday, bringing the coup leader closer to becoming the country's civilian leader.
  • The former commander in chief has led Myanmar since 2021, when he ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and triggered civil war.
Myanmar lawmakers elected junta chief Min Aung Hlaing a vice-president on Tuesday, bringing the coup leader closer to becoming the country's civilian leader.
The former commander in chief has led Myanmar since 2021, when he ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and triggered civil war.
Tuesday's lower house vote could see him exchange his uniform for civilian clothes, as one of the three vice-presidents will go on to be chosen as president by parliament.
On the lower house floor, lawmakers queued up at a row of tables and dropped their ballots into one of three clear-sided boxes.
Lower house speaker Khin Yi confirmed Min Aung Hlaing's election after the vote.
Min Aung Hlaing received 247 of the 260 votes, a parliament official said, according to a live broadcast.
"Since we were selecting qualified individuals, our party... nominated Senior General Min Aung Hlaing," said MP Hla Swe from the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
"We expect that as president he will lead the country and continue to work towards achieving tangible development. That is why he was chosen."
The upper house, meanwhile, elected Nan Ni Ni Aye, a regional MP from Karen state with USDP, as another vice-president, the junta said in a statement.
The military picked current Prime Minister Nyo Saw as a third vice-president, the junta said in a separate statement.
The parliament-wide vote to select the president is expected this week.
Democracy watchdogs have long warned that the new government will be a proxy of the military, which has ruled Myanmar for the vast majority of its post-independence history.
Myanmar's military has long presented itself as the only force guarding the restive country from rupture and ruin.
The generals loosened their grip for a decade-long democratic experiment beginning in 2011, allowing Aung San Suu Kyi to ascend as civilian leader and steer a period of reform as the nation opened up.
But after Aung San Suu Kyi trounced the USDP in a landslide in 2020 elections, Min Aung Hlaing snatched back power as he grew anxious about the military's waning influence, analysts say.
After five years of hardline rule, the top general oversaw heavily restricted elections that returned a walkover win for pro-military parties in January.
Now the USDP -- led and staffed by many retired officers -- is entrenched in parliament after winning 80 percent of elected seats, and it is expected the new government will march in lockstep with the top brass.
Min Aung Hlaing is expected to manage a carefully orchestrated transition to becoming president, after he handed over the reins of the military to loyalist Ye Win Oo on Monday. 
bur-str-sco/ami

Global Edition

Thailand's king endorses new cabinet

  • Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow will retain his position as Thailand's top diplomat, as will the ministers of finance and commerce -- all three of whom were also made deputy prime ministers.
  • Thailand's king endorsed the new cabinet of second-term Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, with the nephew of jailed ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra made a deputy prime minister, the Royal Gazette said Tuesday.
  • Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow will retain his position as Thailand's top diplomat, as will the ministers of finance and commerce -- all three of whom were also made deputy prime ministers.
Thailand's king endorsed the new cabinet of second-term Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, with the nephew of jailed ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra made a deputy prime minister, the Royal Gazette said Tuesday.
The cabinet posts, mostly reserved for members of Anutin's party, include six deputy prime minister positions -- one of which was given to Yodchanan Wongsawat, the top candidate of Thaksin's Pheu Thai party in the general election last month.
Anutin's Bhumjaithai party won the most seats in parliament in the February 8 poll, putting the conservatives at the head of the new ruling coalition.
But without an outright majority, Bhumjaithai allied with the third-placed Pheu Thai of tech billionaire Thaksin, who is serving a one-year prison sentence for corruption.
Yodchanan, a biomedical engineering professor, was also made minister for higher education, science, research and information.
Anutin himself will pull double-duty, also serving as interior minister.
Bhumjaithai members and its loyalists hold 32 cabinet positions, including the economic and defence portfolios, with several ministers from Anutin's first short-lived term being re-appointed.
Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow will retain his position as Thailand's top diplomat, as will the ministers of finance and commerce -- all three of whom were also made deputy prime ministers.
The justice and defence ministers also fall within the camp of the pro-military and pro-monarchy Bhumjaithai.
Pheu Thai was allotted nine minister jobs, including agriculture, labour, education and social development.
The new government is expected to offer its policy positions before parliament next week, according to local media.
tp/sco/jfx

US

Middle East war: global economic fallout

  • - Trump threatens to destroy key Iran oil hub - President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to destroy Iran's oil export hub Kharg Island if a deal to end the war was not reached soon and the Strait of Hormuz did not "immediately" open.
  • Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war: - Oil prices rise - Oil prices sank and most stocks rose Tuesday, following a Wall Street Journal report that indicated Donald Trump was willing to end the Iran war even if the key Strait of Hormuz remained closed.
  • - Trump threatens to destroy key Iran oil hub - President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to destroy Iran's oil export hub Kharg Island if a deal to end the war was not reached soon and the Strait of Hormuz did not "immediately" open.
Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war:

Oil prices rise

Oil prices sank and most stocks rose Tuesday, following a Wall Street Journal report that indicated Donald Trump was willing to end the Iran war even if the key Strait of Hormuz remained closed.
Market experts did however warn that any US ground operation or wider Iranian retaliation could send oil prices to levels not seen since July 2008, when Brent hit almost $150 a barrel.
Both main oil contracts fell Tuesday, though West Texas Intermediate and Brent were still sitting well above $100 a barrel.

Indonesia makes cuts to school meal programme

Indonesia will make cuts to its free school meals programme from Tuesday as it seeks to set aside billions of dollars to counteract budget pressures brought on by the war and soaring oil prices.

Trump threatens to destroy key Iran oil hub

President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to destroy Iran's oil export hub Kharg Island if a deal to end the war was not reached soon and the Strait of Hormuz did not "immediately" open.
The island, located around 30 kilometres (19 miles) off the Iranian mainland, handles roughly 90 percent of Iran's crude exports, according to a JP Morgan note released early March. 
He warned US forces would destroy "all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)."

Iranian attack sparks fire on Kuwait oil tanker

An Iranian attack sparked a fire on a Kuwaiti oil tanker at Dubai Port, state media reported on Tuesday.
"The Kuwaiti giant crude oil tanker was subjected to a direct and malicious Iranian attack while in the anchorage area of Dubai Port in the UAE," official news agency KUNA reported, citing Kuwait's state-owned oil company. 
There were no injuries, according to the report, and Dubai authorities later said firefighters had extinguished the blaze.

Iran parliament body approves Hormuz tolls

Iranian state media reported Monday that a parliamentary commission had approved plans to impose tolls on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway vital to oil and gas shipments that has been effectively closed due to the Middle East war.
Citing a member of the parliament's security commission, state TV said the plan involved among other things "financial arrangements and rial toll systems" and "implementing the sovereign role of Iran", as well as cooperation with Oman on the other side of the Strait.

Dubai announces financial aid

Dubai will provide support worth over $270 million to help businesses and families, authorities announced Monday, as Gulf states face economic disruption from Iran's aerial attacks and partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Panama Canal sees traffic increase

The war in the Middle East has prompted a surge in ships utilizing the Panama Canal, an executive for the waterway said Monday.
"We had expected around 34 daily passages" for this year, but in the last two weeks "we've been having 38, 39, 40," the deputy administrator of the canal, Ilya Espino de Marotta, told Telemetro in an interview.

Haifa refinery fire

A large blaze ignited at Israel's Haifa oil refinery after it was hit by debris from the interception of a projectile on Monday.
Television channels showed black smoke billowing into the sky from the site, while the fire service shared photos of a tank on fire, shortly after the Israeli military said it had detected new missiles from Iran.

Sri Lanka raises electricity prices 40%

Sri Lanka announced a nearly 40 percent increase in electricity prices from Wednesday as it battles an energy shortage caused by the war in the Middle East.
Sri Lanka has raised fuel prices three times this month, increasing them by more than a third, and has imposed a four-day working week in a bid to save energy.

Norway cuts fuel taxes

Norway will temporarily cut its taxes on petrol and diesel to counter rising prices as the Middle East war disrupts global energy supplies, the government said.

G7 pledges 'necessary measures'

G7 economy and finance ministers said Monday that they stood ready to take "all necessary measures" to ensure the stability of the energy market as they tackled the economic consequences of war in the Middle East.

Bangladesh orders energy saving

Bangladesh has ordered civil servants to switch off lights and turn down air conditioning to save power as the Middle East war worsens an energy crunch, officials said. 

Gulf energy targets

Kuwait said an Iranian attack on a desalination and electricity plant killed one worker and damaged a building as Tehran pressed its aerial campaign against its Gulf neighbours.

Iranian grid 'stable'

Iran has restored electricity in parts of Tehran and nearby areas after strikes damaged power grids and briefly disrupted supply, deputy energy minister Mostafa Rajabi-Mashhadi told state television.
burs-aha/ane/ceg

Israel

Iran fires missiles across Middle East as Trump threatens oil hub

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

  • As sirens rang out in Jerusalem, Israel's military said it had responded to fresh Iranian missiles, while local Iranian media reported new explosions in Tehran that caused "power outages in parts" of the capital.
  • Iran fired missiles across the Middle East on Tuesday as its capital was hit by fresh explosions, after US President Donald Trump threatened the country's key oil export hub, power stations and desalination plants.
  • As sirens rang out in Jerusalem, Israel's military said it had responded to fresh Iranian missiles, while local Iranian media reported new explosions in Tehran that caused "power outages in parts" of the capital.
Iran fired missiles across the Middle East on Tuesday as its capital was hit by fresh explosions, after US President Donald Trump threatened the country's key oil export hub, power stations and desalination plants.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump's partner in attacking Iran, said more than half of his military aims had been achieved, but both leaders refused to put a timeline on an operation that has ignited a month-long regional war and jolted global markets.
As sirens rang out in Jerusalem, Israel's military said it had responded to fresh Iranian missiles, while local Iranian media reported new explosions in Tehran that caused "power outages in parts" of the capital.
Israel's military also reported Tuesday that four more of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, where the war has spilled and where they are clashing with Iranian-backed Hezbollah. 
Before the latest strikes on Tehran, Israel issued a warning on X to residents of an area in the west of the city saying it would "attack military infrastructure" there.
Iran, meanwhile, fired a new salvo of missiles at Gulf nations it accuses of serving as a launchpad for US strikes.
In Dubai, four people were wounded by falling debris from intercepted projectiles while an Iranian attack sparked a fire at a Kuwaiti oil tanker in the city's port, said authorities in the financial hub whose reputation for stability has been shaken by the conflict.
In Saudi Arabia, authorities said they intercepted eight ballistic missiles, hours after Iran's top diplomat called on Riyadh to "eject US forces".
Trump warned Monday that if Iran did not strike a war-ending deal -- which included reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane -- US forces would destroy "all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)."
But the Wall Street Journal reported he also told aides he was willing to end the war even if the strait remains largely closed --likely strengthening Tehran's control on the waterway.
Refusing to back down, an Iranian parliamentary committee voted to impose tolls on vessels in the strait, the passageway through which one-fifth of global oil passes, and completely ban ships from the United States and Israel.
The strait had been open before the war, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio has recently spoken of building a "coalition" to oppose the Iranian tolling plan.
"It sets an incredible precedent," Rubio told Al-Jazeera of the tolls.
"So this means that nations can now take over international waterways and claim them as their own," Rubio said of the waterway the US president recently called the "Strait of Trump".

War 'beyond halfway point'

Trump said the United States was speaking to a "more reasonable regime" in Tehran, which has denied any talks and accused him of lying about negotiations as cover while readying a ground invasion.
For Israel's part, Netanyahu said his military had achieved key objectives including "wiping out" industrial plants in Iran and coming "close to finishing their arms industry".
"It's definitely beyond the halfway point. But I don't want to put a schedule on it," Netanyahu told US broadcaster Newsmax.
The war, and the spiraling price of oil, has been unpopular in the United States, where Rubio again said Monday that it would last "weeks" more and not months.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose country is feeling the economic pinch of the war, appealed directly to Trump to find an offramp.
"Please, help us to stop the war; you are capable of it," Sisi told a press conference. 
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, whose country is acting as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington, was set to travel to Beijing for talks Tuesday on "global issues of mutual interest" with counterpart Wang Yi.
Dar hosted foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey in the Pakistani capital on Sunday, saying Islamabad was ready to host talks between the United States and Iran in the "coming days".
Trump has claimed to be in direct contact with senior Iranian figures whom he has not identified publicly.
But Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei again denied any negotiations, saying the United States had sent only a request to talk via intermediaries, including Pakistan.
After weeks of strikes, residents of Tehran painted a picture of a city that is still clinging to some routine despite tight security.
"When I make it to a cafe table, even for a few minutes, I can almost believe the world hasn't ended," said Fatemeh, 27, a dental assistant.
"And then I go back home, back to the reality of living through war, with all its darkness and weight."

Lebanon pounded

On another front, Israel has relentlessly pounded Lebanon, including central Beirut, as it seeks to deliver a heavy blow to Iranian ally Hezbollah, which fired rockets in response to the killing of Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
The UN mission in Lebanon said that two Indonesian peacekeepers were killed when "an explosion of unknown origin destroyed their vehicle", with two other peacekeepers wounded, one seriously. Another Indonesian peacekeeper was killed on Sunday.
The Israeli military said early Tuesday that it had opened an investigation to determine if it or Hezbollah was responsible.
France, a key player in Lebanon, called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting, which was subsequently scheduled for Tuesday at 1400 GMT.
Economy ministers and central bankers from the G7 club of rich countries, meanwhile, met in Paris to discuss the war's consequences, with many countries introducing energy-saving measures.
Market experts warned that any US ground operation or wider Iranian retaliation could send oil prices to levels not seen since the 2008 commodity boom.
Adding pressure, Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels over the weekend fired missiles and drones at Israel, posing a threat to shipping on the Red Sea in addition to the Gulf.
burs-jfx/fox

internet

Indonesia summons Google, Meta for 'not complying' with teen social media ban: minister

  • App-addicted Indonesia began enforcing a social media ban for users under the age of 16 on Saturday, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying and internet addiction, as concerns grow globally over the impact of social media on children's well-being.
  • Indonesia issued summons letters to Google and Meta over their failure to comply with a social media ban for under-16s that entered into force over the weekend, the communications minister said.
  • App-addicted Indonesia began enforcing a social media ban for users under the age of 16 on Saturday, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying and internet addiction, as concerns grow globally over the impact of social media on children's well-being.
Indonesia issued summons letters to Google and Meta over their failure to comply with a social media ban for under-16s that entered into force over the weekend, the communications minister said.
In a video posted on Instagram late Monday, Minister Meutya Hafid said "the government is sending summons letters" to Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, as well as to Google, which oversees YouTube, adding they "violated Indonesian law".
The summonses were issued "as part of the application of administrative sanctions in accordance with the applicable provisions", the minister added.
App-addicted Indonesia began enforcing a social media ban for users under the age of 16 on Saturday, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying and internet addiction, as concerns grow globally over the impact of social media on children's well-being.
Australia, which in December became the first country to introduce measures to protect teens from online threats, is investigating Facebook, TikTok and YouTube for possible breaches.
Meutya said over the weekend there would be "no room for compromise regarding compliance".
In Monday's video, she accused Google and Meta of having opposed the new regulations "from the very beginning".
She named TikTok and Roblox as examples of platforms not yet fully compliant but "making efforts". They will receive warning letters.
"We will focus on working with platforms that have the goodwill to respect Indonesia, not only as a digital market, but also (by) committing to Indonesian laws and legal instruments for child protection," she said.
Indonesia, with its population of over 284 million, boasts among the most social media users in the world, including about 70 million children under the age of 16.
"We understand this is not easy. Indonesia is indeed one of the most active countries in the digital space, with average scrolling time of 7–8 hours per day," said the minister.
She urged parents and children to help the government monitor compliance and report companies that flout the law.
mrc-mlr/lb

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • - Two UN peacekeepers killed - The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said two personnel were killed on Monday in a blast in the country's south, after another peacekeeper was killed a day earlier.
  • Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war: - Four Israeli soldiers killed in south Lebanon - The Israeli military said Tuesday that four soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, where its forces are clashing with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
  • - Two UN peacekeepers killed - The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said two personnel were killed on Monday in a blast in the country's south, after another peacekeeper was killed a day earlier.
Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:

Four Israeli soldiers killed in south Lebanon

The Israeli military said Tuesday that four soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, where its forces are clashing with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
A military statement named three soldiers from the same battalion who "fell during combat", and a separate statement said another soldier whose name had not yet been cleared for publication had died in the same incident. 
Another soldier was severely wounded and a reservist moderately wounded, according to the second statement.

Israel military says responds to Iranian missiles

Israel's military said its air defences responded to Iranian missiles on Tuesday as sirens rang out.
At least 10 blasts were heard over Jerusalem, an AFP journalist said.
"A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel," the Israeli military posted on Telegram.

Local media: Explosions heard in Tehran

Explosions were heard in Tehran and power cuts hit some parts of the capital, Iranian media reported on Tuesday. 
"Power outages in parts of Tehran after multiple explosions heard," Fars news agency reported.
Tasnim news agency reported that power has now been restored in the affected areas.

PMF: US-Israeli air strikes target Iraqi bases

Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) said US-Israeli forces carried out air strikes on two of their bases in the Babil and Anbar provinces.
"The 45th Brigade in the Jurf al-Nasr sector of Babil Governorate was targeted with three airstrikes, while another strike targeted the 31st Brigade in the Karma sector, east of Anbar Governorate," it said on its website.
No casualties were reported.

Tanker fire in Dubai

An Iranian attack sparked a fire on a Kuwaiti oil tanker at Dubai Port, state media reported Tuesday, adding there were no injuries.  
"The Kuwaiti giant crude oil tanker was subjected to a direct and malicious Iranian attack while in the anchorage area of Dubai Port in the UAE," official news agency KUNA reported, citing Kuwait's state-owned oil company.
Also in Dubai, falling debris from an air defence interception sparked a fire and wounded four people in the city, authorities said. 

Netanyahu: progress on war goals

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war on Iran had achieved more than half its aims, without putting a timeline on when it would end.
"It's definitely beyond the halfway point. But I don't want to put a schedule on it," Netanyahu told the conservative US broadcaster Newsmax.

Two UN peacekeepers killed

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said two personnel were killed on Monday in a blast in the country's south, after another peacekeeper was killed a day earlier.
Two other blue helmets were injured in the explosion, one severely, the force said, adding that it had opened an investigation.

Drone attack targets US embassy in Baghdad

One civilian was wounded in Iraq's capital Baghdad late Monday after shrapnel from an intercepted drone attack targeting the US embassy fell onto their neighbourhood, a police source said.

Iran panel approves Hormuz toll plan

Iranian state media reported that a parliamentary commission had approved plans to impose tolls on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway vital to oil and gas shipments that has been effectively closed due to the Middle East war.
Citing a member of the parliament's security commission, state TV said the plan involved, among other things, "financial arrangements and rial toll systems" and "implementing the sovereign role of Iran", as well as cooperation with Oman on the other side of the strait.

G7 ministers pledge action on energy

G7 economy and finance ministers said they stood ready to take "all necessary measures" to ensure the stability of the energy market, roiled by the war.
- NATO intercepts Turkey-bound missile - 
NATO forces intercepted a new missile fired from Iran towards Turkey, the fourth since the start of the Middle East war.
None of the four projectiles managed to hit Turkish soil, according to the authorities. 

US 'hopeful' in private Iran talks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope for working with elements within Iran's government, saying the United States privately had received positive messages.
Rubio said that there were internal "fractures" inside the Islamic republic and that the United States hoped figures with "power to deliver" take charge.

Israel strikes Iran university

Israel's military said it had struck the Imam Hossein University in Tehran run by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, claiming the institution was used for advanced weapons research.

Trump threatens Iran oil hub

Trump threatened to destroy Iran's oil export hub of Kharg Island, oil wells and power plants if it does not agree soon to a deal to end the war.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social network that while the United States was in "serious discussions" with "a more reasonable regime" in Tehran, if an agreement was not forthcoming Washington would set about "completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)"
burs-mlm/ane/fox