politics

Aid flotilla arrives in Cuba as US oil blockade bites

politics

Trump has destroyed Venezuela's socialist ideology: opposition leader

  • Machado said she believed that "Venezuelans will freely decide who they want" as leader in the next elections.
  • Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told AFP on Tuesday that her country's formerly all-powerful socialist ideology has been fatally "wounded" by US President Donald Trump.
  • Machado said she believed that "Venezuelans will freely decide who they want" as leader in the next elections.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told AFP on Tuesday that her country's formerly all-powerful socialist ideology has been fatally "wounded" by US President Donald Trump.
The regime known as "Chavismo" that held Venezuela in its grip for quarter of a century under Hugo Chavez and his successor Nicolas Maduro is "wounded irreparably and is being dismantled," Machado said.
The oil-rich Latin American country was thrown into turmoil this January when US military forces toppled leftist Maduro, who has now been replaced with his former deputy Delcy Rodriguez.
While Rodriguez served under Maduro, she has proved eager to bend to Trump's demands, including reopening the country to US oil companies. Last week, she ordered a wide-ranging reshuffle of senior military leaders.
"Following President Trump's instructions, they are dismantling their own repressive and corrupt structures -- a crucial step toward the transition," Machado said during an interview with AFP in Houston, Texas, where she was attending the CERAWeek global energy forum. 
Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, said that when presidential elections are held again in Venezuela, she will participate "in that electoral process." However, she did not specify whether she would run.
Machado said she believed that "Venezuelans will freely decide who they want" as leader in the next elections.
Machado was banned from running for president in the 2024 election. After Maduro claimed a reelection victory, a wave of repression forced her to remain in hiding for more than a year.
She has remained in the United States for most of her exile.
In January, just two weeks after US forces snatched Maduro and brought him to New York for trial, she met with Trump in the White House and presented him with her Nobel prize.
Trump has said he would like to "get her involved" in Venezuela's political process. But he has so far sidelined Machado and backed Rodriguez as interim leader.
Maduro is being held in a New York jail while awaiting trial on US drug trafficking charges.
mav/mel/mjf/sms

politics

Aid flotilla arrives in Cuba as US oil blockade bites

BY ELISA COLELLA ABOARD THE MAGURO WITH LISANDRA COTS IN HAVANA AND GERARD MARTINEZ IN MIAMI

  • "The interesting thing is that we're able to carry much larger items, like solar panels," she told AFP. - 'Political sideshow' - In addition to daily outages, fuel prices have soared, public transport has become rare and trash is piling up as garbage trucks are no longer running.
  • The first boat of a flotilla carrying medical supplies, food and solar panels reached Cuba on Tuesday to aid the island as a US fuel blockade deepens its energy crisis.
  • "The interesting thing is that we're able to carry much larger items, like solar panels," she told AFP. - 'Political sideshow' - In addition to daily outages, fuel prices have soared, public transport has become rare and trash is piling up as garbage trucks are no longer running.
The first boat of a flotilla carrying medical supplies, food and solar panels reached Cuba on Tuesday to aid the island as a US fuel blockade deepens its energy crisis.
The Maguro shrimp fishing boat docked in Havana three days later than hoped after battling strong winds, currents and a pesky battery during its journey from Mexico.
As they approached Havana's colonial-era fortification, the international activists stood on the cabin roof of the boat -- symbolically renamed "Granma 2.0" as a tribute to the yacht used by Fidel Castro's guerrilla fighters to launch their revolution in 1956.
They held a sign reading "Let Cuba live" while others waiting for them on the dock chanted "Cuba yes! Blockade no!"
"I wish everyone would unite, even Cubans abroad, and come and do the same because it is the people who are suffering," said Amado Rodriguez, a 59-year-old driver walking near Havana Bay.
The first shipments arrived by plane from Europe, Latin America and the United States last week as part of an air and sea mission, dubbed Our America Convoy, to bring some 50 tonnes of aid to Cuba.
Two more ships were due to arrive Tuesday or Wednesday.
Activists say the mission, which had the support of the government, aims to bring relief to Cubans amid a de facto US oil blockade that President Donald Trump launched in January.
Critics have slammed the effort as benefiting the communist government more than ordinary people.
Convoy organizer David Adler, a US citizen, told AFP the mission brought urgently needed aid directly to Cubans and showed the world "the human costs of Trump's siege on Cuba."
"It demonstrated that international solidarity can triumph over forced isolation," said Adler, coordinator of global left-wing group Progressive International.
Cuba has suffered seven nationwide blackouts since 2024 -- two of them this past week -- due to aging thermoelectric plants and oil shortages.
The situation has deteriorated since Cuba's chief regional ally, Venezuelan socialist leader Nicolas Maduro, was captured by US forces in January and Trump threatened tariffs against countries that ship oil to the island.
The Sea Horse, a Hong Kong-flagged tanker that was previously reported to be taking Russian diesel to Cuba, ended up in Venezuelan waters, data from maritime tracker Kpler showed Tuesday.

Trump's 'greed'

The Maguro left from Mexico's Yucatan peninsula Friday carrying 32 people, including activists from Australia, Brazil, Ecuador, Italy, Mexico and the United States, and AFP journalists.
As the boat motored across the sea, Brazilian activist Thiago Avila said other nations should come to Cuba's aid.
"We cannot allow the world and international law to be buried under the greed of Donald Trump," Avila told AFP.
"That's why we are here, that's why people decided to mobilize for this and decided to donate."
Avila was among the organizers of a flotilla that had tried to bring aid to Gaza last year despite a naval blockade. That effort was intercepted by Israeli forces.
Fellow Brazilian activist Lisi Proenca said the group was applying the experience it gained from the Gaza flotilla.
"The interesting thing is that we're able to carry much larger items, like solar panels," she told AFP.

'Political sideshow'

In addition to daily outages, fuel prices have soared, public transport has become rare and trash is piling up as garbage trucks are no longer running.
Cuba has blamed Washington for the country's hardship, pointing to the fuel blockade and a decades-old trade embargo.
Cuban exiles and other critics, who say the communist government is to blame for the economic crisis, said the convoy is giving political support to Havana.
"All of this is nothing more than a political sideshow," Luis Zuniga, a former Cuban political prisoner now based in Miami, told AFP.
"The electricity crisis in Cuba does not stem from the oil embargo imposed by (Trump). It dates back to long before that," Zuniga said.
bur-lt/sms

NASA

NASA to build $20 bn moon base, pause orbital lunar station plans

BY CHARLOTTE CAUSIT WITH MAGGY DONALDSON IN NEW YORK

  • The Gateway orbital lunar station was meant to serve both as a point of transfer for astronauts headed to the Moon as well as a platform for research.
  • NASA's chief on Tuesday said the US space agency will invest $20 billion to develop a base on the Moon, while suspending its plans to create the lunar orbital space station known as Gateway.
  • The Gateway orbital lunar station was meant to serve both as a point of transfer for astronauts headed to the Moon as well as a platform for research.
NASA's chief on Tuesday said the US space agency will invest $20 billion to develop a base on the Moon, while suspending its plans to create the lunar orbital space station known as Gateway.
"The agency intends to pause Gateway in its current form and shift focus to infrastructure that enables sustained surface operations," Jared Isaacman said in a statement given during a day-long event at NASA headquarters in Washington.
"Despite challenges with some existing hardware, the agency will repurpose applicable equipment and leverage international partner commitments to support these objectives," he said.
It's the latest shake-up at NASA in the wake of changes to the Artemis program, which aims to send Americans back to the Moon and establish a long-term presence there, paving the way for eventual missions to Mars.
The Gateway orbital lunar station was meant to serve both as a point of transfer for astronauts headed to the Moon as well as a platform for research.
The suspension of the initiative isn't entirely surprising: some had criticized it as financially wasteful or a distraction from other lunar ambitions.
Putting it on hold will allow for the redirection of efforts and resources towards the construction of the base near the strategic south lunar pole, Isaacman explained, which was already a goal.
Isaacman said NASA now plans to spend $20 billion over the next seven years to construct the base over dozens of missions, "working together with commercial and international partners towards a deliberate and achievable plan."
"There will be an evolutionary path to building humanity's first permanent surface outpost beyond Earth, and we will take the world along with us."
The European Space Agency among other international organizations were partners on the planned Gateway project.
Queried by AFP, the ESA said that it is "currently holding close consultations with its member states, international partners and European industry to assess the implications of this announcement."

Artemis 2 on deck

Isaacman, who took the helm of NASA late last year, abruptly announced less than a month ago that it was reshuffling its Artemis program that has suffered multiple delays in recent years, as it aims to ensure Americans can return to the Moon's surface by 2028.
That goal remains unchanged, but the US space agency is shifting its flight lineup to include a test mission before an eventual lunar landing to improve launch "muscle memory," Isaacman said.
That strategic revision came amid repeated delays to the Artemis 2 mission, which was originally due to take off as early as February, but is now targeting early April. It is meant to see the first flyby of the Moon in more than half a century.
During his first term, President Donald Trump announced he wanted Americans to once again set foot on the lunar surface.
China is forging ahead with plans for its first crewed mission to the Moon by 2030 at the latest.
The US effort depends in part on the progress of NASA's private partners.
SpaceX and Blue Origin, the respective space companies of dueling billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, are contracted to develop lunar landers used in the Artemis program.
mdo/msp

US

France urges Israel 'to refrain' from seizing south Lebanon zone

BY DELPHINE TOUITOU

  • "We urge the Israeli authorities to refrain from such ground operations, which would have major humanitarian consequences and would exacerbate the country's already dire situation," Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview with AFP. His comments came after Israel earlier said its military would take control of south Lebanon up to the Litani River, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border.
  • Israel should "refrain" from sending in forces to take control of a zone in south Lebanon, France's foreign minister told AFP on Tuesday, warning that such a move would have "major humanitarian consequences".
  • "We urge the Israeli authorities to refrain from such ground operations, which would have major humanitarian consequences and would exacerbate the country's already dire situation," Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview with AFP. His comments came after Israel earlier said its military would take control of south Lebanon up to the Litani River, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border.
Israel should "refrain" from sending in forces to take control of a zone in south Lebanon, France's foreign minister told AFP on Tuesday, warning that such a move would have "major humanitarian consequences".
"We urge the Israeli authorities to refrain from such ground operations, which would have major humanitarian consequences and would exacerbate the country's already dire situation," Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview with AFP.
His comments came after Israel earlier said its military would take control of south Lebanon up to the Litani River, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border.
Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militant group began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel has since launched strikes across Lebanon, killing at least 1,072 people and displacing more than a million others in more than three weeks of fighting. It has also sent ground troops into the country's south.
Barrot, who visited Lebanon and Israel last week, called on Israel to seize a "historic opportunity" for dialogue with Lebanon's government, saying that Beirut was "turning its words into action" to counter Tehran's interference in the country.
He noted that during his visit to Lebanon on March 19, President Joseph Aoun called for a truce and the opening of negotiations with Israel to stop the war between it and Hezbollah.
"There is a moment to seize, it is historic, and that moment is now," Barrot said, calling for "high-level political dialogue" with the Lebanese government.
Lebanon's government has acted against Iranian interests and withdrew its approval of the Iranian ambassador's accreditation on Tuesday, a decision Barrot hailed as "courageous".
Iranian ambassador Mohammad Reza Sheibani was told to leave Lebanese territory by Sunday.
"I wish to commend the statements and actions of the Lebanese government...which this morning took a courageous decision by expelling the Iranian ambassador," Barrot said.
Hezbollah strongly objected to the move, calling on the government to reverse it.
It was "no small matter" that Lebanon's government had also expelled "a number of representatives of the Revolutionary Guards" in the country, Barrot said, referring to the Islamic republic's ideological army.
Beirut has accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of commanding Hezbollah's operations in its war against Israel, having decided on March 5 to ban all activity by the organisation in the country.
The government also took the unprecedented step of imposing a ban on Hezbollah military activities and called on the group to hand over its weapons to the state.
dt-bpa/ekf/giv

US

Middle East war: global economic fallout

  • - Economic activity slows  - Business activity in the eurozone and the United States slowed in March as the war in the Middle East drove energy prices higher and disrupted global supply chains, closely watched surveys showed. 
  •  Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war: - Oil prices rise - Oil prices climbed on Tuesday as traders turned cautious over the prospect of a negotiated agreement between the United States and Iran to end the Middle East war. 
  • - Economic activity slows  - Business activity in the eurozone and the United States slowed in March as the war in the Middle East drove energy prices higher and disrupted global supply chains, closely watched surveys showed. 
 Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war:

Oil prices rise

Oil prices climbed on Tuesday as traders turned cautious over the prospect of a negotiated agreement between the United States and Iran to end the Middle East war. 
Brent crude, the benchmark international oil contract, was back trading above $100 per barrel.

Philippines declare 'energy emergency'

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos declared a state of "national energy emergency", citing risks to the domestic fuel supply and energy stability. 
The state of emergency was declared hours after the country's energy secretary said the Philippines planned to boost the output of its coal-fired power plants to keep electricity costs down as the war wreaks havoc with gas shipments.

Sri Lanka switches off lights

Sri Lanka ordered street lights, neon signs and billboard lighting to be switched off as part of measures to cut energy consumption by 25 percent to tackle supply shortages.
Government spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said all state institutions had been asked to reduce the use of air conditioning.
Sri Lanka has already raised fuel prices by a third, and last week, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake urged electric car owners to avoid overnight charging.

Economic activity slows  

Business activity in the eurozone and the United States slowed in March as the war in the Middle East drove energy prices higher and disrupted global supply chains, closely watched surveys showed. 
The HCOB Flash Eurozone purchasing managers' index (PMI) published by S&P Global, fell to 50.5 from 51.9 in February. A reading above 50 indicates growth, while a figure below 50 shows contraction.
"The flash Eurozone PMI is ringing stagflation alarm bells as the war in the Middle East drives prices sharply higher while stifling growth," Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said.
Meanwhile the initial reading for the composite US PMI dipped to an 11-month low of 51.4 points in March from 51.9 points in February.

French cuts growth outlook

France's INSEE statistics agency trimmed its growth forecast for the first and second quarters of this year to 0.2 percent as the country's economy is "struck by global turmoil".

Bangladesh hikes jet fuel

Bangladesh hiked jet fuel prices by 79 percent as costs surge in the wake of the US-Israel war on Iran.
The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission order, the second this month, means aviation fuel prices have leapt by 111 percent since the start of the war, with the price now set at $1.32 per litre.

Ireland cuts fuel taxes

Ireland slashed excise duty on petrol and diesel in a bid to stem surging prices at filling stations following the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Excise duty on diesel will fall by 20 euro cents a litre and by 15 cents a litre on petrol until the end of May, said Irish prime minister Micheal Martin.

Amazon's cloud in Bahrain disrupted

Amazon's cloud arm told AFP its service in Bahrain has been disrupted, after drone attacks hit the region.
An Amazon Web Services spokesperson said the disruption was ongoing, without specifying the exact location affected or any potential damage done.
AFP journalists in Bahrain said the government's portal for online procedures was inaccessible, as were several other services.

Vietnam to cut domestic flights

Vietnam's national air carrier will suspend nearly two dozen domestic flights a week starting next month because of limited fuel supplies caused by the Mideast war, the nation's aviation authority said.
Major domestic routes and international flights are being maintained, though Vietnamese airlines are working on adding fuel surcharges on international routes.

Airlines extend flight suspensions

German aviation giant Lufthansa said all services across the Middle East were cancelled until the end of April due to the "volatile situation".
Air France and its budget airline Transavia also extended flight suspensions to destinations across the Middle East.
Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific said on Tuesday it has extended its flight suspensions to and from Dubai and Riyadh by a month until May 31 because of the war in the Middle East.

Kenya Airways sees boost

Kenya's national carrier has seen passenger numbers jump by nearly a third and cargo up more than 250 percent during the Mideast war. 
While major airlines have suspended flights to the Gulf, or cut back due to fuel shortages, Kenya has seen a boost as an alternative hub. 
burs-rl/rmb

US

UN rights council to hold urgent debate on Iran's Gulf strikes

BY ROBIN MILLARD

  • Holding such a debate was "manifestly unjust, legally untenable and fundamentally detached from reality", Iran's representative told the council.
  • The UN Human Rights Council will hold a rare urgent debate on Wednesday on Iran's strikes on countries across the Gulf region and their impact on civilians.
  • Holding such a debate was "manifestly unjust, legally untenable and fundamentally detached from reality", Iran's representative told the council.
The UN Human Rights Council will hold a rare urgent debate on Wednesday on Iran's strikes on countries across the Gulf region and their impact on civilians.
The session, approved on Tuesday, was requested by Bahrain on behalf of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Jordan -- to the infuriation of Tehran, which branded them "detached from reality".
The United Nations' top rights body will discuss "the recent military aggression launched by Iran against Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates... targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, which has resulted in the loss of innocent lives", according to the debate title.
The war erupted on February 28 when the United States and Israel began their attacks on Iran, with Tehran in turn striking targets in Israel and Gulf nations.
"Our countries are not party to the armed conflict, nor have we taken part in military aggression or attacks," Bahrain's ambassador Abdulla Abdullatif Abdulla told the council on Tuesday.
"These Iranian attacks have targeted civilians, civilian infrastructure, leading to very many innocent victims."
Abdulla said the GCC and Jordan had tried to ensure that dialogue prevailed, and had affirmed they would not attack Iran.
"Despite this, we are continuing to be targets of direct attacks," he said, calling the strikes "unjustified and unjustifiable".
The countries brought forward a draft resolution, which the 47-member council will vote on.
The draft resolution "condemns in the strongest terms the egregious attacks" by Iran, condemns Tehran's actions aimed at closing the Strait of Hormuz and voices "grave concerns at the Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure".
It demands Iran "cease all unprovoked attacks" against the GCC states and Jordan, and "provide full, adequate, effective and prompt reparation for all injury and damage... caused by its internationally illegal wrongful acts".
It does not mention Israel or the United States.

'Lawful targets': Tehran

Tehran said the request was "wilfully ignoring the ongoing war of aggression launched against Iran by the US and Israeli regimes".
Holding such a debate was "manifestly unjust, legally untenable and fundamentally detached from reality", Iran's representative told the council.
"It is obvious that if the littoral states of the Persian Gulf and Jordan had not permitted their territories to be used by the US military forces for acts of aggression, US military bases and facilities in the region would not have become lawful targets.
"These states have, at a minimum, facilitated acts that qualify as aggression," and therefore cannot claim isolation from Iran's right of self-defence.
"Iran did not initiate this conflict... Don't confuse the culprits with the victims," the representative said.
Council president Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro said he had received a letter from Iran, China and Cuba requesting another urgent debate.
That request, on the "protection of children and educational institutions in international armed conflicts", refers to the airstrike on a school in the southern city of Minab, calling it a "grave breach of international humanitarian law and international human rights law".
Suryodipuro said the request would be discussed by the council bureau later on Tuesday.
rjm/nl/giv

conflict

Russia rains drones on Ukraine, killing eight, hitting UNESCO site

BY YURIY DYACHYSHYN WITH DARIA ANDRIIEVSKA IN KYIV

  • Russia fired 550 drones during the day on Tuesday, following 392 overnight, Ukraine's air force said in a statement.
  • Russia fired almost 1,000 drones at Ukraine over the last 24-hours, unleashing one of its largest-ever daytime attacks, killing at least eight people and hitting the UNESCO-protected city centre of Lviv, officials said Tuesday.
  • Russia fired 550 drones during the day on Tuesday, following 392 overnight, Ukraine's air force said in a statement.
Russia fired almost 1,000 drones at Ukraine over the last 24-hours, unleashing one of its largest-ever daytime attacks, killing at least eight people and hitting the UNESCO-protected city centre of Lviv, officials said Tuesday.
Two people were killed and a maternity hospital damaged in a drone strike on the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, with another person killed in the central Vinnytsia region -- part of an assault that followed an overnight barrage on residential buildings in several cities that killed another five people.
In Lviv, a western city far from the front, an AFP reporter saw a column of flames rising from a building next to the 17th-century St. Andrew's Church and Bernardine Monastery in the city centre, which was struck during evening rush hour.
Firefighters were working to put out the blaze at the apartment building, whose roof had been smashed in and windows blown out.
First responders and locals were seen sheltering inside a church in mid-attack, waiting for the all-clear to go back outside.
A spokesman for Ukraine's air force told AFP it was one of the biggest-ever daytime attacks on Ukraine.
"On such a large scale, it's basically the first time. I don't recall there being such daytime strikes with this number of drones," said the spokesman, Yuriy Ignat.
Russia fired 550 drones during the day on Tuesday, following 392 overnight, Ukraine's air force said in a statement.
Moscow has typically fired its barrages overnight in the four-year war, which started with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has killed hundreds of thousands of people.

'More protection needed': Zelensky

The daytime strikes on the centre of Ivano-Frankivsk killed two people and wounded four, including a six-year-old child, regional head Svitlana Onyshchuk said on social media.
Around 10 residential buildings and a maternity hospital were damaged, she said.
In the Vinnytsia region, one person was killed and 11 wounded, the regional head said.
In Lviv, at least 13 people were hospitalised.
Unverified video from the city shared widely on social media showed a drone careering down into a building near a church in the city centre, erupting into a ball of flames on impact.
Earlier, in Kyiv, AFP reporters saw locals -- including a mother with her toddler -- sheltering in the metro at lunchtime during a rare midday air alert.
The attacks came with Ukraine concerned that it could struggle to repel relentless Russian aerial strikes as its supplies of US air defence systems dwindle amid the war in the Middle East.
"These numbers clearly show that more protection is needed to save lives from Russian strikes," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.
A third round of US-brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv aimed at ending Russia's invasion has been derailed by the war in the Middle East.
Ukraine sent a delegation to the United States last weekend in a bid to revive the negotiation process, but the effort yielded no immediate result.
Kyiv has been seeking to trade its anti-drone technology and expertise for conventional air defence missiles, which it urgently needs, and has dispatched around 200 of its military experts to Gulf countries facing Iranian drone attacks.

Housing, infrastructure hit

Overnight, Russian missiles and drones rained down on residential areas and transport and energy infrastructure across Ukraine, local authorities said.
Five people were killed and dozens wounded in strikes across the central Poltava region, the eastern city of Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south.
AFP reporters in Zaporizhzhia -- repeatedly battered by Russian attacks -- saw a fire raging across multiple floors in a high-rise residential block, windows and balconies blasted out and grey smoke bellowing from the building.
The nighttime attack also cut a key power line connecting neighbouring Moldova to Europe, forcing the country to declare a state of emergency.
Another power line to the southern Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was also cut, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported.
Russia has occupied large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine in a gruelling campaign that has forced millions of people to flee their homes.
In Russia, authorities in the western Kursk region said a Ukrainian strike on a farm had killed one person and wounded 13.
On the battlefield, Russia's army said it had captured a Ukrainian village in the Kharkiv region.
bur-asy/jc/pdw/jhb

US

Iran, Israel trade strikes as push for talks intensifies

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

  • Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
  • Iran and Israel traded fresh strikes on Tuesday as the Middle East war ground on, though a diplomatic push to bring Iran and the United States to the negotiating table appeared to be gathering pace.
  • Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran and Israel traded fresh strikes on Tuesday as the Middle East war ground on, though a diplomatic push to bring Iran and the United States to the negotiating table appeared to be gathering pace.
The three-week-old war, sparked by US-Israeli attacks that killed Iran's supreme leader, has upended global energy markets, roiled the world economy and spiralled throughout the region, even dragging in safe-haven Gulf nations.
Speculation has mounted that Pakistan could emerge as a mediator following an offer from its prime minister, a day after US President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced productive talks with Iran -- a claim Tehran swiftly denied.
On the ground, however, the hostilities continued, with Israel's army saying it had conducted a "large wave" of airstrikes across several areas of Iran including the central city of Isfahan.
In Tel Aviv, Israel reported four people wounded after missile fire from Iran, with AFP images showing rubble-strewn streets and the side of a three-storey building in ruins.
Earlier, Iranian media reported enemy warplanes had struck two gas facilities and a pipeline, hours after Trump stepped back from his weekend threat to attack energy sites, citing the attempts at diplomacy.
Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia all said they had intercepted renewed drone and missile attacks, as Iran kept up retaliatory strikes on US-allied Gulf states.

'Friendly countries'

Trump on Monday said his administration was speaking with an unidentified "top person" in Iran, and extended by five days an ultimatum for the Islamic republic to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or see its power plants obliterated.
But Tehran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said "no negotiations" were underway, accusing Trump of seeking "to manipulate the financial and oil markets".
Washington and Tehran do not have formal diplomatic relations, but Iran's foreign ministry on Monday acknowledged messages had been relayed by "friendly countries" indicating a "US request for negotiations".
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that he had spoken with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, promising Islamabad's help to bring peace to the region. 
"Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict," Sharif wrote on X on Tuesday.
US media outlet Axios reported that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may meet an Iranian delegation for talks in Pakistan as soon as this week, with Vice President JD Vance possibly joining. 
Trump's administration has held two sets of multi-round talks with Iran on its nuclear programme since he returned to the White House, with both ending in surprise attacks on the Islamic republic -- in June last year and most recently on February 28.
Analysts said other countries with good relations with Tehran and Washington could also play a role as mediator, including Egypt and possibly Turkey.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call that "talking is always better" than fighting.
And the US State Department announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would meet G7 counterparts in France on Friday to discuss Iran.

'There's nothing left'

Israel, meanwhile, stepped up its campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, saying its military would take control of south Lebanon up to the Litani river, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border.
Israel pounded Beirut's southern suburbs throughout the night, while a strike on Bshamoun, south of the capital, killed two people on Tuesday, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
"There's nothing left. It's all burned or destroyed... No walls, the windows are gone, the facade is gone, all my hard work has been lost," said Abbas Qassem, 55 from Bshamoun, weeping at the damage to his flat.
In Beirut, AFP images showed smoke billowing from gutted buildings, as rescuers picked through the rubble and twisted metal.
Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel's attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 1,000 people, according to Lebanon's health ministry, and displaced more than a million people.
The war has killed at least 3,230 Iranians, including 1,406 civilians, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. AFP cannot access strike sites nor independently verify tolls in Iran.

'Trust has been destroyed'

Before again coming under fire on Tuesday, Iran's neighbours had breathed a sigh of relief when Trump stepped back from his earlier threat.
Tehran had vowed to deploy naval mines and strike power and water infrastructure across the region if its own plants were attacked.
Since the start of the US-Israeli attacks, Tehran has retaliated by throttling traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil and gas prices soaring and fuelling fears of higher inflation and weaker global growth.
Oil prices, which had tumbled after Trump's comments, rebounded slightly in Tuesday trade, with Brent back above $100 a barrel.
Although Iran's chokehold on the strait gives it leverage in potential negotiations, analysts remained doubtful of any breakthroughs.
"I'm very sceptical (about the talks) because trust has been completely destroyed and the positions of the warring parties are further apart than ever," David Khalfa, a Middle East specialist at the Jean-Jaures Foundation, a Paris-based think-tank, told AFP.
"The margin for manoeuvre on both sides is very limited."
burs-mfp/smw

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • - China FM encourages talks - China's top diplomat told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call that "talking is always better than to keep fighting" after Tehran denied US President Donald Trump's claim that negotiations had taken place.
  • Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war: - Hezbollah backs Iran diplomat - Hezbollah called Lebanon's decision to expel the newly appointed Iranian ambassador a "national and strategic sin", and demanded authorities "immediately reverse" the move. 
  • - China FM encourages talks - China's top diplomat told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call that "talking is always better than to keep fighting" after Tehran denied US President Donald Trump's claim that negotiations had taken place.
Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:

Hezbollah backs Iran diplomat

Hezbollah called Lebanon's decision to expel the newly appointed Iranian ambassador a "national and strategic sin", and demanded authorities "immediately reverse" the move. 

China FM encourages talks

China's top diplomat told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call that "talking is always better than to keep fighting" after Tehran denied US President Donald Trump's claim that negotiations had taken place.
"It is hoped that all parties can seize every opportunity and window for peace and start the peace talks process as quickly as possible," Wang Yi told Abbas Araghchi, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.

Explosions near Beirut

Explosions rocked several areas north of Beirut that had been spared in the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war, according to residents and local media, with a military official saying the blasts likely came from an intercepted Iranian missile.
"A number of citizens sustained minor injuries from flying shrapnel," according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency.

UAE says contractor killed

The UAE defence ministry said that a Moroccan contractor with the Emirati military was killed in Bahrain in an Iranian attack, with Manama saying the man had been assisting the local armed forces.

Islamabad talks offer

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad is prepared to host negotiations to stop the US-Israeli war with Iran, after mounting speculation it could act as a mediator.

G7 war discussion

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet G7 counterparts in France on Friday to discuss the war, the State Department said.
While all G7 nations are close US allies, none has unambiguously offered support for the offensive on Iran, angering President Donald Trump. 
- Iran arrests - 
Iranian authorities said that 466 people have been arrested, accused of seeking to destabilise the country through their online activity. 
The exact nature of the online activity nor the dates of the arrests were provided. Internet has been shut down in Iran since the start of the war on February 28.

Iran security chief

Iran named a former Revolutionary Guards commander, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, as head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, succeeding Ali Larijani, who was killed last week in an Israeli strike.

Gulf 'breakdown'

The Gulf states will need to re-evaluate their shared security after the war, which has resulted in a "breakdown of the security system", a Qatar foreign ministry spokesman said.

Isfahan strikes

Israel's military said that it had completed a "large wave of strikes in Isfahan". 
- 'Security zone' - 
Israel said it military will seize control of an area 30 kilometres (20 miles) into Lebanon a "security zone", as it presses its fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told AFP that Israel should "refrain" from that measure, warning it would have "major humanitarian consequences".

UN rights meet

The UN Human Rights Council said it will hold an urgent meeting on Wednesday on Iran's strikes on countries in the Gulf region.

Iran energy sites hit

Iranian media reported on Tuesday that Israeli-US strikes targeted two gas facilities and a pipeline, hours after US President Donald Trump stepped back from his threat to attack power infrastructure.
In an interview with state TV, Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said that Iran was less vulnerable to attacks on energy infrastructure because it was spread out, with 150 power plants across the country. 
burs/giv/rmb

Global Edition

Oil prices jump as Trump's Iran claims raise doubts

  • "The flash Eurozone PMI is ringing stagflation alarm bells as the war in the Middle East drives prices sharply higher while stifling growth," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, which published the findings.
  • Oil prices jumped on Tuesday as traders turned cautious over the prospect of a negotiated agreement between the United States and Iran to end the Middle East war.
  • "The flash Eurozone PMI is ringing stagflation alarm bells as the war in the Middle East drives prices sharply higher while stifling growth," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, which published the findings.
Oil prices jumped on Tuesday as traders turned cautious over the prospect of a negotiated agreement between the United States and Iran to end the Middle East war.
Meanwhile European and US stocks held largely steady, having rallied Monday after US President Donald Trump delayed strikes on Iranian energy sites and hailed "very good" talks with Iran.
Asian equities caught up with the strong gains Tuesday but the rally fizzled in the European and US sessions.
Oil prices, which had tumbled on Monday, rebounded strongly with Brent popping back above $100 a barrel.
"The Iran war is not over, and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. 
"It will take more conciliatory remarks from Donald Trump to extend Monday’s recovery rally and give hope that the war is close to wrapping up."
Axel Rudolph at trading platform IG said European "markets began the day on a negative footing but ended it in the green, torn between fears that the conflict in the Middle East may not wind down anytime soon and the hope that it may."
Trump on Monday stepped back from his threat to attack energy sites, citing "very good" talks to end the war.
But, Tehran's parliamentary speaker said "no negotiations" were underway, insisting Trump was seeking "to manipulate the financial and oil markets".
And hours after Trump's apparent U-turn, Iranian media reported that Israeli-US strikes targeted two gas facilities and a pipeline. 
"Markets (are) increasingly questioning the validity of Trump's claim of positive negotiations with Iran," noted Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.
The economic impact of the war is also becoming clearer. 
Business activity in the eurozone slowed significantly in March according to a closely watched survey published Tuesday, as the war sent energy prices surging and disrupted global supply chains.
The HCOB Flash Eurozone purchasing managers' index registered a significantly lower figure of 50.5 for March, down from 51.9 in February. A reading above 50 indicates growth.
"The flash Eurozone PMI is ringing stagflation alarm bells as the war in the Middle East drives prices sharply higher while stifling growth," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, which published the findings.
The initial reading for the composite US PMI dipped to an 11-month low of 51.4 points in March from 51.9 points in February.
"The risk is that the PMI data, which is a lead indicator, is the start of a wave of weaker economic data to come down the line," said XTB's Brooks.
Iran's choking of the Strait is also impacting airlines, with Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, and Air France extending flight suspensions to destinations across the Middle East. 
Lufthansa shares fell nearly two percent and Air France-KLM shares ended the day down three percent. 

Key figures at around 1630 GMT

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 4.2 percent at $104.09 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 5.0 percent at $92.49 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 46,348.18 points
New York - S&P 500: UP less than 0.1 percent at 6,585.39 
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 21,865.74 
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 9,965.16 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,743.92 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 22,636.91 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.4 percent at 52,252.28 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.8 percent at 25,063.71 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.8 percent at 3,881.28 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1590 from $1.1616 on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3392 from $1.3437
Dollar/yen: UP at 158.83 yen from 158.34 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.57 pence from 86.45 pence
burs-rl/rmb

politics

New Chile president withdraws support for Bachelet UN chief bid

  • A foreign ministry statement on Tuesday however said Santiago "has decided to withdraw Chile's backing for ex-president Michelle Bachelet as candidate for the post of secretary general of the United Nations."
  • Chile's new hard-right President Jose Antonio Kast on Tuesday withdrew Santiago's support for former socialist president Michelle Bachelet as candidate for the post of UN secretary general.
  • A foreign ministry statement on Tuesday however said Santiago "has decided to withdraw Chile's backing for ex-president Michelle Bachelet as candidate for the post of secretary general of the United Nations."
Chile's new hard-right President Jose Antonio Kast on Tuesday withdrew Santiago's support for former socialist president Michelle Bachelet as candidate for the post of UN secretary general.
Kast's leftist predecessor Gabriel Boric had in February backed two-term president Bachelet's attempt to become the first woman to head the United Nations, in a move also supported by leftist-led Brazil and Mexico.
A foreign ministry statement on Tuesday however said Santiago "has decided to withdraw Chile's backing for ex-president Michelle Bachelet as candidate for the post of secretary general of the United Nations."
"The fragmentation of candidacies among Latin American states and the differences with some of the key players shaping this process render this candidacy and its eventual success unviable," the ministry said, while adding it would not back another contender if Bachelet were to seek to stay in the race.
Even without having Chile’s backing, Bachelet, 74, can still proceed with her candidacy, as she retains Brazil's and Mexico's backing.
Each potential candidate must be formally nominated by a state or group of states, but not necessarily by their country of origin.
Bachelet, a pediatrician by profession, is the only woman to have served as president of Chile (2006–2010 and 2014–2018), under the Socialist Party's banner.
She has been hoping to succeed Portugal’s Antonio Guterres, 76, who will conclude his second term at the UN helm on December 31.
As well as president, Bachelet previously served as executive director of UN Women (2010–2013) and later as UN high commissioner for human rights (2018–2022).
To date, no woman has held the post of UN secretary general.
An unwritten rule has it that the top UN post rotates among the world's main regions, and now it's the turn of Latin America.
The only previous Latin American UN secretary general was Peruvian diplomat Javier Perez de Cuellar, who served between 1982 and 1991.
axl/pa/mr/cw/des/msp

detainee

Afghanistan announces release of detained US citizen

BY QUBAD WALI

  • "We have written in the letter that we released your detainee here, so you should release our detainee there as well," his son said.
  • Afghanistan's Taliban government announced the release of a US national on Tuesday who had been detained for more than a year, after a letter from his family requesting his freedom.
  • "We have written in the letter that we released your detainee here, so you should release our detainee there as well," his son said.
Afghanistan's Taliban government announced the release of a US national on Tuesday who had been detained for more than a year, after a letter from his family requesting his freedom.
The foreign ministry said the family of linguist and researcher Dennis Coyle had written to the supreme leader of Afghanistan, asking that he be released and pardoned for Eid.
"The Supreme Court of the Islamic Emirate deemed his period of detention sufficient and decided on his release," a statement read.
The announcement came after a meeting of Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, US former special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, the UAE ambassador to Kabul Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi, and a member of Coyle's family.
The UAE facilitated the release, the ministry said, adding that the decision was made on humanitarian grounds and as a gesture of "goodwill".
Coyle, 64, appeared relieved at a short news conference at Kabul airport alongside Khalilzad before leaving on an Emirati private jet, an AFP team said.
Khalilzad told reporters that the release was a "very positive development and a good decision... by the authorities".
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also welcomed Coyle's release, and urged the Taliban authorities to release all other detainees.
"Dennis joins over 100 Americans who have been freed in the past 15 months," he said, adding that the United States was "still seeking the immediate return of Mahmood Habibi, Paul Overby, and all other unjustly detained Americans".
The family of the last Afghan held at the US high-security prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba meanwhile renewed their call for his release.
Ibrahim Rahim, 29, said he had sent a letter via Khalilzad to US President Donald Trump asking for his father, Muhammad Rahim, to be freed on medical grounds.
Muhammad Rahim arrived at Guantanamo in March 2008 and was accused by the CIA of being a close associate of the al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
"We have written in the letter that we released your detainee here, so you should release our detainee there as well," his son said.
The family last called for his release in November 2023.

'Legally working'

Coyle, from Colorado, was arrested in January 2025, according to the Foley Foundation, which advocates for the release of Americans taken hostage or arbitrarily detained abroad.
The foreign ministry said he was held "due to violations of Afghanistan's applicable laws", without elaborating.
But a website set up by his family, freedenniscoyle.com, said he had been "legally working to support Afghan communities as an academic researcher" when he was detained.
They said he had been held in "near-solitary conditions, requiring permission even to use the bathroom, and without access to adequate medical care".
Coyle first travelled to Afghanistan in the early 2000s "to survey Afghanistan's rich linguistic diversity and help Afghan communities develop resources in their own languages", they added.
"Throughout his years of service, Dennis maintained a home in Kabul and built deep, meaningful relationships with the Afghan people," the website read.
"His love for the Afghan people isn't just professional; it's personal and deeply felt." 
Earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States had formally placed Afghanistan on its list of countries engaged in "wrongful detentions".
The Afghan authorities called that "regrettable" and pointed to talks between the two sides and previous releases with mediators from Qatar.
In 2025, five American citizens were released in what the Taliban authorities said was a "goodwill gesture".
Two Afghan former prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay until 2017 were welcomed home in February last year, more than 20 years after they were first arrested.
Mahmood Habibi, a telecoms consultant, was abducted in Kabul in August 2022, shortly after a US strike that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Taliban authorities deny any part in his disappearance.
qb-iw/phz/abs

politics

Residents recount guilt, chaos in hearing on deadly Hong Kong fire

BY CATHERINE LAI

  • "I blame myself because I wasn't able to go back up and warn (my neighbours)," she added, breaking into tears.
  • Survivors who escaped the massive blaze that killed 168 people at a Hong Kong housing estate last year told a public hearing Tuesday they still blame themselves for failing to save their neighbours.
  • "I blame myself because I wasn't able to go back up and warn (my neighbours)," she added, breaking into tears.
Survivors who escaped the massive blaze that killed 168 people at a Hong Kong housing estate last year told a public hearing Tuesday they still blame themselves for failing to save their neighbours.
The November 26 fire at Wang Fuk Court, a high-rise complex in the financial hub's Tai Po district, was the world's deadliest residential building fire since 1980 and Hong Kong's worst since 1948.
The inferno swept through seven of the estate's eight towers, which were under renovation and wrapped in bamboo scaffolding, netting and foam boards -- materials that may have accelerated the spread of flames.
Three residents delivered emotional testimonies before an independent committee of investigators, saying they did not hear any fire alarms that day.
Tse Yuk-wa, who lived on the third floor near where the fire is believed to have started, said smoke wafted into her kitchen but she initially assumed it was dust from the construction.
A member of the building's management staff knocked on her door to warn her. 
"I thought that it can't be," she said. "I didn't hear the fire alarm."
She managed to flee with her two cats, but when she turned back she saw smoke rising above the complex. "The roof was like a stove," she said.
"I blame myself because I wasn't able to go back up and warn (my neighbours)," she added, breaking into tears. "I could only stay there and watch the fire burn."
Tse's account moved reporters to tears, with some wiping their faces as she spoke.
Fire alarms in seven of the estate's eight blocks had been turned off, the committee's counsel said in opening remarks.
Another resident, Ko Yee‑lui, said she escaped by lift after spotting smoke in her building. 
Ko said she felt "lucky" she was able to escape.
"I can't imagine how helpless people must have been," she said between heavy sighs, adding: "I really regret that I didn't knock on a single door."
And resident Leung Ho-hin said he saw two neighbours try to use a fire hose, but "no water" came out.
Judge David Lok, the committee's chair, urged the survivors not to "overly blame yourself". "A lot of things happened in an instant," he said. 
The government's counsel, Jenkin Suen, told the inquiry that authorities would not shirk responsibility and pledged "systemic reforms".
Evidence presented at hearings last week showed that government departments failed to effectively address residents' complaints about construction workers smoking on site and the use of combustible building materials during renovations.
cla/mya/abs

US

US-Israeli war on Iran is 'breach of international law': German president

BY FEMKE COLBORNE

  • He stressed that the US-Israel war on Iran was, "in my view, in breach of international law".
  • German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke on Tuesday of a "deep rift" with traditional ally the United States and said the US-Israeli war on Iran was a "breach of international law".
  • He stressed that the US-Israel war on Iran was, "in my view, in breach of international law".
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke on Tuesday of a "deep rift" with traditional ally the United States and said the US-Israeli war on Iran was a "breach of international law".
In unusually strong comments, the German head of state said that just as there was no going back from Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, "there will be no going back to before January 20, 2025", when US President Donald Trump entered the White House for a second time.
"The rift is too deep and the trust in American power politics has been lost, not only among our allies but... worldwide," he said at an event to mark the 75th anniversary of the German foreign ministry.
Although Steinmeier's role is largely ceremonial, his words carry weight in Germany, which has not officially condemned the war against Iran.
Steinmeier, a former foreign minister, said: "Our foreign policy does not become any more convincing simply because we do not call a breach of international law a breach of international law."
He stressed that the US-Israel war on Iran was, "in my view, in breach of international law".
"There is little doubt that, in any case, the justification of an imminent attack on the US does not hold water," he added.
Germany's head of government, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has harshly criticised Iran's leadership and backed several key US-Israeli war goals.
But he has also stated that, had Berlin been consulted in advance, it "would have advised against" the war.

'Den of thieves'

Steinmeier called the military campaign "a politically disastrous mistake" and "a truly avoidable, unnecessary war".
"Realism means we must be pragmatic in our dealings with this US administration and focus on our core interests," he said. 
"But realism also means we must not compromise our own principles." 
He added: "The US government has a different world view to ours, one that shows no regard for established rules, partnership or hard-won trust. 
"We cannot change that. We must deal with it. But this is my conviction: we have no reason to align ourselves with this world view."
Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society, labelled Steinmeier's comments on the war "grossly inappropriate" and said they displayed a "smug know-it-all attitude".
"The mullah regime has been threatening and waging war against Israel's very existence for years," he claimed, accusing Steinmeier of turning a "blind eye to these dangers".
Tuesday's comments were not the first time the German president has criticised the United States.
In January, shortly after the US intervention in Venezuela, Steinmeier spoke of a "breakdown of values" in the United States and insisted the world must not be allowed to turn into a "den of thieves".
fec/fz/gil

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • The exact nature of the online activity nor the dates of the arrests were provided.
  • Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war: - Iran arrests -  Iranian authorities said that 466 people have been arrested, accused of seeking to destabilise the country through their online activity. 
  • The exact nature of the online activity nor the dates of the arrests were provided.
Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
- Iran arrests - 
Iranian authorities said that 466 people have been arrested, accused of seeking to destabilise the country through their online activity. 
The exact nature of the online activity nor the dates of the arrests were provided. Internet has been shut down in Iran since the start of the war on February 28.

New Iran chief

Iran named a former Revolutionary Guards commander, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, as the new chief of the Supreme National Security Council to replace Ali Larijani, killed in an Israeli strike, state television said.

Gulf 'breakdown'

The Gulf states will need to re-evaluate their shared security after the war, which has resulted in a "breakdown of the security system," a Qatar foreign ministry spokesman said.

Iran envoy out

Lebanon withdrew the accreditation of Iran's ambassador and gave him until Sunday to leave the country.
The move came after Beirut accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of commanding the operations of the Tehran-backed Hezbollah in its war against Israel.

Isfahan strikes

Israel's military said that it had completed a "large wave of strikes in Isfahan." 
- 'Security zone' - 
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military would take control of south Lebanon up to the Litani River as a "security zone", as it presses its fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The hundreds of thousands of south Lebanon residents who have been displaced by the war "will not return south of the Litani River until security is guaranteed for the residents of the north" of Israel, he said.

UN rights meet

The UN Human Rights Council said it will hold an urgent meeting on Wednesday on Iran's strikes on countries in the Gulf region.

Iran energy sites hit

Iranian media reported on Tuesday that Israeli-US strikes targeted two gas facilities and a pipeline, hours after US President Donald Trump stepped back from his threat to attack power infrastructure.
In an interview with state TV, Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said that Iran is less vulnerable to attacks on energy infrastructure because it was spread out, with 150 power plants across the country. 
- Iraqi Kurdistan targeted - 
A rocket attack in Iraq's north killed six fighters from the peshmerga armed forces of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, officials said. 
The region's armed forces ministry blamed Tehran, saying "six Iranian ballistic missiles targeted" the troops in two attacks.
- Wounded in Tel Aviv - 
Four people were wounded in Tel Aviv, where police reported several impact sites after the military warned of incoming missiles from Iran. The city's mayor said the hit in an upscale neighbourhood in the north was a "direct strike".
Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened to conduct "heavy missile and drone strikes" in what it described as support for Palestinian and Lebanese civilians hit by Israeli fire.

Two killed near Beirut

An Israeli strike on Bshamoun, a town south of Beirut which lies outside of the traditional strongholds of Iran-backed Hezbollah, killed at least two people, Lebanon's health ministry said.

Iraq deaths

A strike in western Iraq on Tuesday killed 15 fighters, including Saad Dawai al-Baiji, provincial commander and head of operations in Anbar for the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF).
The PMF is now part of Iraq's regular army, but also includes some pro-Iranian groups. It has blamed the attack on the US.

Syrian base targeted

Syria's army said Monday that one of its bases in the northeast was targeted by a missile strike from neighbouring Iraq, while an Iraqi official said a local armed group was behind the attack.
The Iraqi official, requesting anonymity, told AFP that "an Iraqi faction fired seven Arash-4 rockets, an improved version of the Grad rocket, towards a base in the Hassakeh region".
burs/yad/st

US

'A top person': Who is the US dealing with in Iran?

BY STUART WILLIAMS

  • But his position as foreign minister seems unlikely to equate to that of a "top person".
  • He is, according to President Donald Trump, a "top person" in the Iranian system who is "most respected" and is in an unenviable position.
  • But his position as foreign minister seems unlikely to equate to that of a "top person".
He is, according to President Donald Trump, a "top person" in the Iranian system who is "most respected" and is in an unenviable position.
But who is the senior figure talking with the United States on the future of Iran after over three weeks of the Israeli-US war against the Islamic republic? 
The individual, said Trump, is not supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei who succeeded his father, Ali Khamenei, after the killing of the ex-number one at the start of the war on February 28.
After the killing of national security chief Ali Larijani in an Israeli strike last week, attention has focused on parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has survived the war so far. 
But Trump gave no names, saying: "I don't want him to be killed."
Here are five possible figures.
- Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
Ghalibaf has been pinpointed by several analysts as the de-facto wartime leader of Iran following the killings of Khamenei and Larijani and the failure of Mojtaba Khamenei to make any public appearance.
During three decades at the centre of the Iranian system he has held posts straddling civilian and military life, as commander of the aerospace forces of the Revolutionary Guards, Tehran police chief, Tehran mayor and now parliament speaker.
Regarded as deeply ambitious, he stood for president on three occasions but was never successful. After a report in Israeli media said he was the interlocutor of the US, he posted on X that "no negotiations have been held with the US" and denounced "fakenews".
- President Masoud Pezeshkian
President since 2024 after an election held following the death of former president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, Pezeshkian is seen as belonging to the more moderate wing of politics in the Islamic republic.
However his position as president in no way makes him Iran's number one, with the supreme leader having the final say on all key matters, although how the power structures work in the post-Ali Khamenei era remains unclear.
Seeking to promote himself as an ordinary man of the people, Pezeshkian took to the streets earlier this month for a mass pro-government rally in favour of the Palestinian cause, taking selfies with well-wishers. Larijani also took part in the same event, only to be killed days later.
- Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi
A veteran diplomat, Araghchi has held the post since 2024 following the death of former foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian in the same helicopter crash that killed Raisi.
He acted as Iran's representative in talks last month with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Oman that were mediated by the Gulf sultanate and failed to stop the march to war.
The New York Times said Tuesday, citing US and Iranian officials, that Araghchi and Witkoff had "direct communication" in recent days which according to Iranian officials amounted to "essentially probes on how to de-escalate the conflict".
Araghchi, who holds a doctorate in political thought from the University of Kent in England, has vigorously defended Iran's position in TV interviews including with American media. But his position as foreign minister seems unlikely to equate to that of a "top person".
- Revolutionary Guards Commander-in-Chief Ahmad Vahidi  
A former interior and defence minister, Vahidi is the third commander-in-chief of Iran's ideological army in less than a year after his predecessor Mohammad Pakpour was killed on the first day of the war and Hossein Salami was killed during Israel's 12-day war against Iran in June 2025.
Possibly for this reason, Vahidi has kept a very low profile in this war, making no public appearance.
Only one statement has been issued in his name as commander on March 19, expressing his condolences for the killing of the commander of the Guards' Basij militia, Gholamreza Soleimani, in an airstrike.
- Quds force commander Esmail Ghaani
An extremely shadowy figure, Ghaani became commander of the force responsible for the external operations of the Revolutionary Guards after the killing of Qassem Soleimani in a US strike in Iraq in 2020.
Ghaani was reportedly killed in the June 2025 war but then later re-emerged in public. Intense speculation has since surrounded his whereabouts and standing, amid reports he has come under pressure due to alleged intelligence lapses including the 2024 killing in Lebanon by Israel of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
On March 20, Iranian state media issued the first, and so far only, message in Ghaani's name of the war, predicting that Iran would "soon witness the shameful defeat" of its enemies in the war.
sjw/sw/ser

US

In Lebanon's Tyre, ancient site threatened by Israeli bombs

BY CéLIA LEBUR

  • They thought that being close to an archaeological site protected them, that because this is a World Heritage site it would not be struck," said Nader Saqlawi, director of archaeological excavations in the south for Lebanon's culture ministry.
  • At an archaeological site in southern Lebanon's Tyre, small signs bearing a blue and white emblem provide a symbolic shield, meant to protect the ancient ruins from bombardment.
  • They thought that being close to an archaeological site protected them, that because this is a World Heritage site it would not be struck," said Nader Saqlawi, director of archaeological excavations in the south for Lebanon's culture ministry.
At an archaeological site in southern Lebanon's Tyre, small signs bearing a blue and white emblem provide a symbolic shield, meant to protect the ancient ruins from bombardment.
One of the oldest cities on the Mediterranean coast, Tyre is located around 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the Israeli border, and has been the target of several strikes since Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war by Hezbollah's March 2 rocket attack on Israel.
The Al-Bass site is centred on a necropolis that dates back three millennia to Tyre's time as a major Phoenician city and was still in use until the Arab conquests of the 7h Century.
An organisation linked to UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural heritage agency, launched the signs initiative near the site, part of a push that covers more than 30 locations across the country. 
It is a reminder that the 1954 Hague Convention obliges warring parties to protect cultural property.
On March 6, an Israeli strike hit just a few metres away, killing eight people according to Lebanon's health ministry.
The target, a family home, is now a pile of rubble.
"They were our neighbours... They thought that being close to an archaeological site protected them, that because this is a World Heritage site it would not be struck," said Nader Saqlawi, director of archaeological excavations in the south for Lebanon's culture ministry.

Human remains

The team from the ministry that came to inspect possible damage to the monuments found human remains -- "a hand and pieces of flesh" -- on the roof of the site's museum, which is still under construction, he said.
The museum suffered damage, its windows were blown out, but the explosion did not reach the necropolis nor the Roman-era triumphal arch, aqueducts and hippodrome that are also part of the site.
In antiquity, the city of Tyre was at various times Phoenician, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine. 
While many of its inhabitants have fled the latest war, others remain alongside the city's precious relics. 
Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salame condemned what he called Israel's aggression.
"The archaeological sites do not contain any military or security presence. Therefore, this argument cannot be used to justify their bombing," he said.
There was no immediate comment in response to AFP's request from the Israeli army, which usually says it is targeting Hezbollah sites or operatives with its attacks.
"Lebanon is full of archaeological riches... and the Beirut depots do not have the capacity to accommodate all these threatened objects," said David Sassine, an expert at the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage.

'No one cares'

There is also no guarantee that the objects would be safer in the capital, which is itself regularly bombed by Israel, and transporting the items from the south of the country, even under military escort, "remains risky", Sassine said.
During the previous Israel-Hezbollah conflict in 2024, gold coins, millennia-old amphorae and valuable sarcophagi were transferred to Beirut, where they have remained.
Tyre was heavily damaged by Israeli strikes during that war, while much of the population evacuated at the time.
Closer to the border, the citadel in the village of Shamaa was also partly destroyed by the Israeli military.
Saqlawi of the culture ministry said he believed attacks on historic sites were intentional.
"The Israelis know everything. They know your shoe size... and they know very well this is an archaeological site," he said.
Mustapha Najdi, a guard at the archaeological sites, was at the Al-Bass site when the March 6 strike hit.
"I heard a very violent impact. I fled and alerted the authorities," he said.
"No one cares about us", Najdi lamented, calling on "everyone who can to exert pressure to stop this barbarity".
"This civilisation represents history, represents us all, Lebanese and non-Lebanese."
cl/nad/dcp/lg/ser

US

US-Israeli war on Iran is 'breach of international law': German president

  • He stressed that the US-Israel war on Iran was, "in my view, in breach of international law".
  • German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke on Tuesday of a "deep rift" with traditional ally the United States and said the US-Israeli war on Iran was a "breach of international law".
  • He stressed that the US-Israel war on Iran was, "in my view, in breach of international law".
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke on Tuesday of a "deep rift" with traditional ally the United States and said the US-Israeli war on Iran was a "breach of international law".
In unusually strong comments, the German head of state said that just as there was no going back from Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, "there will be no going back to before January 20, 2025", when US President Donald Trump entered the White House for a second time.
"The rift is too deep and the trust in American power politics has been lost, not only among our allies but... worldwide," he said at an event to mark the 75th anniversary of the German foreign ministry.
Although Steinmeier's role is largely ceremonial, his words carry weight in Germany, which has not officially condemned the war against Iran.
Steinmeier, a former foreign minister, said: "Our foreign policy does not become any more convincing simply because we do not call a breach of international law a breach of international law."
He stressed that the US-Israel war on Iran was, "in my view, in breach of international law".
"There is little doubt that, in any case, the justification of an imminent attack on the US does not hold water," he added.
Germany's head of government, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has harshly criticised Iran's leadership and backed several key US-Israeli war goals but also stated that, had Berlin been consulted in advance, it "would have advised against" the war.
Merz has repeatedly said Germany shares "the objective that Iran should no longer pose a threat in future", while also making clear Germany would not enter the conflict.
Steinmeier called the military campaign "a politically disastrous mistake" and "a truly avoidable, unnecessary war".
"Realism means we must be pragmatic in our dealings with this US administration and focus on our core interests," he said.
"But realism also means we must not compromise our own principles. 
"The US government has a different world view to ours, one that shows no regard for established rules, partnership or hard-won trust. 
"We cannot change that. We must deal with it. But this is my conviction: we have no reason to align ourselves with this world view."
fec/fz/gil

trade

Australia, EU agree sweeping new trade pact eight years in the works

BY KIRSTY NEEDHAM

  • In that context, she said the EU and Australia were bound by common values and must work together to mitigate over-reliance on countries such as China for rare-earth minerals.
  • The European Union and Australia struck a long-awaited free-trade deal on Tuesday, while also agreeing to boost defence cooperation and access to crucial rare-earth minerals in the face of global uncertainty over trade.
  • In that context, she said the EU and Australia were bound by common values and must work together to mitigate over-reliance on countries such as China for rare-earth minerals.
The European Union and Australia struck a long-awaited free-trade deal on Tuesday, while also agreeing to boost defence cooperation and access to crucial rare-earth minerals in the face of global uncertainty over trade.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen's visit to Australia comes as the 27-nation bloc and the import-reliant nation navigate renewed energy vulnerability sparked by the war in the Middle East.
The accord is the latest agreed by Brussels in a push to diversify trade as Europe faces challenges from the United States and China.
Key sticking points on Australian use of European geographical names as well as how much beef can be exported to the continent were overcome to reach the deal after eight years of negotiations.
Another compromise will see Australian winemakers allowed to use the term "prosecco" domestically, but they must stop using it for exports after 10 years.
Australia will also be allowed to keep using some geographical names, such as feta and gruyere, in cases where producers have used the name for at least five years.
And European carmakers will benefit from Australia raising the threshold for a luxury car tax on electric vehicles -- three-quarters will now be exempt.
The two sides also agreed to step up cooperation on defence as well as on critical raw materials.
Addressing the Australian parliament on Tuesday, von der Leyen described a world that was "brutal, harsh and unforgiving".
In that context, she said the EU and Australia were bound by common values and must work together to mitigate over-reliance on countries such as China for rare-earth minerals.
"We cannot be over dependent on any supplier for such crucial ingredients, and that is precisely why we need each other," she said.
"Our security is your security, and with our new security and defence partnership, we have each other's back."
Beijing's foreign ministry urged the EU on Tuesday to abandon its "zero-sum thinking". 
"We hope the European side will... refrain from adopting protectionist measures, and view China's development in a rational and objective light," spokesman Lin Jian said when asked at a regular news briefing about von der Leyen's comments.

A 'fair deal'

Von der Leyen told Australian lawmakers that the agreement on trade was a "fair deal, and one that delivers for your businesses and one that delivers for our businesses".
Under the accord, the EU said it expected exports to Australia to grow by a third over a decade.
The quota of Australian beef allowed into the bloc will increase more than 10 times the current level over the next decade. 
That upset both Australian farmers, who had hoped for more, and their European peers, who had pushed for the opposite.
Australia's National Farmers' Federation said it was "extremely disappointed" by a deal that European agriculture lobby group Copa-Cogeca said included "unacceptable" concessions.
Others were more pleased. European carmakers group ACEA welcomed the pact and the EU's top business lobby, BusinessEurope, hailed it as "a win for both sides, geopolitically and economically".
EU firms exported 37 billion euros (US$42.9 billion) of goods to Australia last year, and 31 billion euros of services in 2024.
And Australia said the deal could add AU$7.8 billion (US$5.4 billion) to its gross domestic product by 2030.
Australia's largest export market is China, and the United States is its largest source of investment.
However, Canberra has redoubled efforts to diversify export markets for farmers since a 2020 dispute with Beijing saw agriculture shipments blocked for several years, and the global imposition of US tariffs last year.
Likewise, the EU is on a drive to strike new partnerships in the face of US levies and Chinese export controls. It recently signed trade deals with India and South American bloc Mercosur, with more in the works. 
Von der Leyen's visit was overshadowed by the war in the Middle East, which has sent oil prices soaring.
The EU chief said this month the conflict had served as a "stark reminder" of Europe's vulnerabilities.
And on Tuesday she called for an immediate end to hostilities in the face of a "critical" situation for energy supply chains globally.
Australia -- which is heavily reliant on fuel from abroad -- has also felt the pressure from the global energy squeeze.
oho-isk-ub/raz/gv

US

Gas shortages push India's poor back to wood and coal

BY UZMI ATHAR

  • "The next best option for us was going back to wood and coal."
  • Soaring black-market prices of cooking gas in India's capital are pushing poorer families back to wood and coal, raising health risks and worsening air quality in the highly polluted megacity.
  • "The next best option for us was going back to wood and coal."
Soaring black-market prices of cooking gas in India's capital are pushing poorer families back to wood and coal, raising health risks and worsening air quality in the highly polluted megacity.
India is the world's second-largest buyer of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is used for cooking and predominantly sourced from the Middle East -- and supplies have been strangled by the ongoing war.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged states to curb black marketing and avoid panic, stressing that India's energy supplies remain stable.
In the low-income Madanpur Khadar neighbourhood, 36-year-old domestic helper Sheela Kumari says she has been forced to abandon LPG cooking gas cylinders for cooking after prices more than doubled.
"We used to buy cylinders for 1,800–2,000 rupees ($19-$21), but now on the black market it has gone up to 5,000 ($53)," she told AFP, nearly as much as she entire monthly salary of 6,000 rupees.
"It is unimaginable for us," she said. "The next best option for us was going back to wood and coal."
Kumari said a 14 kilogramme cylinder lasts only 15–20 days for her family of six, even when they stretch its use out.
But she says a 10 kilogramme bundle of firewood, lasting several days, costs 30 rupees ($0.30).
"There are health repercussions, and my children cough," she said. "But tell me a way out?"

'Too expensive'

Her neighbour, 45-year-old Munni Bai, who has asthma, had switched to using an electric cooker as well as biogas from cow dung, to help her breathing.
But now she said she was being forced to resume use of alternative fuels.
"Gas is too expensive," she said. "We cannot depend on it -- we moved from coal and wood, due to my health issue, but now it is difficult to sustain."
But activists say the problem is more about access.
Many migrant workers lack documentation needed for subsidised LPG and rely on informal markets, where hoarding has pushed up prices.
"There is no major shortage yet, but hoarding has increased," said Deepak, who uses only one name, from the Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR).
"Many migrants depend on black-market cylinders, and prices have gone up two to three times".
New Delhi, and its wider sprawling metropolitan region of 30 million residents, is regularly ranked among the world's most polluted capitals, due to a deadly mix of emissions from power plants, heavy traffic, as well as the burning of rubbish and crops.
For the past decades, India's government has pushed its "Ujjwala" or "light" clean-energy scheme, to provide over 100 million LPG connections to poor households.
Burning wood, coal and biomass indoors exposes families to high levels of smoke and toxic particles, increasing the risk of respiratory illnesses.
Women and children, who spend more time near cooking areas, are especially vulnerable.
uzm/pjm/ane