diplomacy

Germany's Merz pushes return of Syrians as he hosts leader Sharaa

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

politics

Myanmar junta chief elected vice-president

  • "The lower house of elected MPs announces Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as a vice-president," lower house speaker Khin Yi said after the vote.
  • Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was elected a vice-president by the lower house on Tuesday, parliament officials said, with the coup leader edging closer to becoming the country's civilian leader.
  • "The lower house of elected MPs announces Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as a vice-president," lower house speaker Khin Yi said after the vote.
Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was elected a vice-president by the lower house on Tuesday, parliament officials said, with the coup leader edging closer to becoming the country's civilian leader.
Myanmar's former commander in chief Min Aung Hlaing has led Myanmar since 2021, when he ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and triggered civil war.
His election sets in motion a process for him to exchange his uniform for civilian clothes, as the country's parliament selects three vice-presidents, one of whom is then chosen as president. 
On the lower house floor Tuesday morning, MPs queued up at a row of tables and dropped their ballots into one of three clear-sided boxes.
"The lower house of elected MPs announces Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as a vice-president," lower house speaker Khin Yi said after the vote.
The junta chief received 247 of the 260 votes, a parliament official said, according to a live broadcast.
The upper house elected Nan Ni Ni Aye, a regional MP from Karen state with the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), as another vice-president, local media reported.
A third vice-president will be chosen by the military.
A parliament-wide vote to select which of the three will be elevated to 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-sco/lb

politics

Russian tanker set to deliver oil to crisis-hit Cuba

BY LISANDRA COTS

  • - Driving Cuba 'to the brink' - 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.
  • A Russian oil tanker was set to deliver the first crude shipment to Cuba since January on Tuesday after Washington gave the crisis-hit island a reprieve from an effective fuel blockade.
  • - Driving Cuba 'to the brink' - 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.
A Russian oil tanker was set to deliver the first crude shipment to Cuba since January on Tuesday after Washington gave the crisis-hit island a reprieve from an effective fuel blockade.
The Anatoly Kolodkin, a tanker under US sanctions, was on its way to the port of Matanzas, east of Havana, with 730,000 barrels of crude.
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.
"We'll welcome it with open arms. You have no idea how badly we need that oil," said Rosa Perez, a 74-year-old retiree whose home in Matanzas had lost power again.
"Let's see if things improve for us, even just a little... I can't take it anymore," she told AFP, voicing hope that more shipments will follow.
Trump 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 however 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.

Driving Cuba 'to the brink'

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.
The US president has mused about "taking" the communist-ruled island, though Cuban 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.

Two weeks of diesel

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.
Analysts said the Russian oil would buy the Cuban economy only a few weeks.
Jorge Pinon, an expert on Cuba's energy sector at the University of Texas at Austin, said the more urgent need is diesel, which could be used for backup power generators or for transportation systems to keep the economy running.
It would take a month to refine the oil and deliver the diesel, which would be enough to cover demand for about two weeks, he said.
Herrero said the shipment was just "another donation" by Cuba's Russian ally, but he doubted that Moscow wanted 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/js/cms

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

ban

Australia investigates tech giants over social media ban breaches

  • "Australia's world-leading social media laws are not failing.
  • Australia is investigating Facebook, TikTok and YouTube for possible breaches of the country's under-16 social media ban, accusing the big tech companies on Tuesday of "failing to obey" the world-leading laws. 
  • "Australia's world-leading social media laws are not failing.
Australia is investigating Facebook, TikTok and YouTube for possible breaches of the country's under-16 social media ban, accusing the big tech companies on Tuesday of "failing to obey" the world-leading laws. 
Australia in December banned under-16s from a raft of the world's most popular social media sites, citing the need to protect young minds from "predatory algorithms" filled with sex and violence. 
Three months since the landmark laws came into effect, Australia's online safety watchdog found a "substantial proportion of Australian children" were still scrolling banned platforms. 
"Australia's world-leading social media laws are not failing. But big tech is failing to obey the laws," Communications Minister Anika Wells told reporters. 
"Australia will not let the social media giants take us for mugs." 
Australia's eSafety Commission flagged "significant concerns" about Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube. 
"None of this is impossible. None of this is even difficult for big tech, who are innovative billion dollar companies," Wells said. 
"If these companies want to do business in Australia, they must obey Australian laws." 
Australia would decide any punishments by mid-2026. 
Tech companies face fines of up to $33.9 million (Aus$49.5 million) under the laws. 
More than five million accounts belonging to underage Australian users have been removed since the laws came into effect, the eSafety Commission said. 
A growing body of research suggests too much time online is taking a toll on teen well-being. 
Australia's ban has been hailed as a godsend for parents sick of seeing children glued to their phones.  
It has also drawn interest across the globe -- with Malaysia, France, New Zealand and Indonesia among the nations now eyeing similar measures.  
Although social media companies have pledged to abide by the laws, they have warned the measures could instead push teenagers into dark, unregulated corners of the internet. 

Prove it

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said accurately proving users' ages had been "a challenge for the whole industry". 
It told AFP it would "keep investing in enforcement to detect and remove under-16 accounts". 
Image-sharing platform Snapchat told AFP it was "fully committed to implementing reasonable steps under the legislation" and had so far locked 450,000 accounts. 
TikTok said it had no comment, while inquiries on YouTube did not receive a reply. 
Social media companies bear the sole responsibility for checking that Australia-based users are 16 or older.  
They must prove they have taken "reasonable steps" to weed out young teenagers, although it remains unclear how this will be interpreted by the government. 
Some platforms have said they would use AI tools to estimate ages based on photos, while users could also choose to prove their age by uploading a government ID. 
Online discussion site Reddit has filed a legal challenge against Australia's ban, which it described as "legally erroneous".  
The US-based company said there were serious privacy concerns associated with platforms verifying age, with the collection of personal data creating a risk of leaks or hacks.  
Reddit's challenge is yet to be heard in Australia's High Court.
sft/lb

US

Indonesia trims meals programme: what next?

BY MARCHIO GORBIANO

  • - Earlier this month, presidential spokesman Prasetyo Hadi said the government was seeking to set aside as much as 80 trillion rupiah to shield its economy from the Middle East fallout, without disclosing further details.
  • 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 Middle East war and soaring oil prices.
  • - Earlier this month, presidential spokesman Prasetyo Hadi said the government was seeking to set aside as much as 80 trillion rupiah to shield its economy from the Middle East fallout, without disclosing further details.
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 Middle East war and soaring oil prices.
The programme, which feeds an estimated 60 million children and pregnant and breastfeeding women at a cost of nearly a tenth of the annual budget, is President Prabowo Subianto's signature project.
Here's what we know:
- What is being cut? - 
At a cabinet meeting over the weekend, ministers and Prabowo decided to trim the programme from six days per week to five in primary and secondary schools starting Tuesday.
In regions with high malnutrition rates, meals will remain available on Saturdays, when many Indonesian schools are open in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
The move will save "around 40 trillion rupiah ($2.3 billion)," Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, deputy head of the government's National Nutrition Agency, told AFP on Sunday.
The cut may be reviewed if conditions change.
Launched in January 2025, the initiative was touted by the government as a way to tackle a malnutrition and stunting crisis in the country of 284 million people.
The program has a target of ultimately feeding 83 million people, but it has come under the spotlight after thousands of recipients contracted food poisoning.
- A harbinger of more to come? - 
The Indonesian government is also weighing options for curbing fuel consumption as the war in the Middle East has disrupted global energy supply.
The country produces crude but is a net importer of the commodity. It heavily subsidises fuel and natural gas for domestic consumers.
The government has so far defended the subsidy, which at $12.3 billion represents about five percent of the total annual budget for 2026.
Observers say the government's hand may be forced given that Indonesia is required by law to keep its fiscal deficit under three percent of gross domestic product.
The 2026 fuel subsidy calculation was premised on a global oil price of $70 per barrel, but prices have since topped $100.
Firman Noor, a political researcher with the government-funded National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), told AFP the cut to the meal programme "indicates that the pressure on our financial strength stemming from the war is already beginning to be felt".
"This is a warning that we must get prepared like other countries. And just be frank, we need an adjustment because we never know when the war will end, which will surely drive oil prices higher."
Previous subsidy cuts have led to mass riots.

Is it enough?

Earlier this month, presidential spokesman Prasetyo Hadi said the government was seeking to set aside as much as 80 trillion rupiah to shield its economy from the Middle East fallout, without disclosing further details.
Measures under consideration include ordering government workers to work from home one day per week, cutting back on official travel and encouraging bicycle, electronic car and public transport use to preserve valuable fuel.
Analysts said savings from trimming the free meals programme were not nearly enough if the government intends to meet its fiscal deficit limit.
"Without changes in big budget (programmes), I don't see steps taken by the government, such as cutting back on free meals from six to five days or one day work-from-home per week, as adequate to tackle" the widening deficit, said Deni Friawan, a researcher of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). 
mrc/mlr/lga/abs

US

Iran defiant as Trump threatens to destroy oil island

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

  • Trump warned that if a deal were not struck -- including to reopen the Strait of Hormuz -- US forces would destroy "all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)."
  • Iran fired new missiles early Tuesday as it vowed defiance against US President Donald Trump, who threatened to destroy the country's oil export hub of Kharg Island along with power and desalination plants unless Tehran quickly accepts a deal to end the war.
  • Trump warned that if a deal were not struck -- including to reopen the Strait of Hormuz -- US forces would destroy "all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)."
Iran fired new missiles early Tuesday as it vowed defiance against US President Donald Trump, who threatened to destroy the country's oil export hub of Kharg Island along with power and desalination plants unless Tehran quickly accepts a deal to end the war.
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 regional war and sent global oil prices soaring.
In Dubai, four people were injured in the early hours by falling debris of intercepted projectiles and a Kuwaiti oil tanker in the port caught fire, according to authorities in the financial hub whose reputation for stability has been shaken by over a month of war.
Saudi authorities said they intercepted eight ballistic missiles. Hours earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi publicly called on Saudi Arabia to "eject US forces," saying Tehran otherwise respects the "brotherly" kingdom. 
Refusing to back down, an Iranian parliamentary committee voted to impose tolls on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, 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 recently has spoken of building a "coalition" to oppose the Iranian tolling plan.
"No one in the world can accept it," Rubio told Al-Jazeera of the tolls.
"It sets an incredible precedent. 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".
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.
Trump warned that if a deal were not struck -- including to reopen the Strait of Hormuz -- US forces would destroy "all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)."
Destroying civilian infrastructure would be illegal under international humanitarian law and could constitute a war crime, experts say.

Peacekeepers die in Lebanon

Israel has also relentlessly pounded Lebanon, including central Beirut, as it seeks to deliver a heavy blow to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed force that had fired rockets in solidarity after Israeli forces killed 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.
Before the latest war, Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country, had been preparing to send forces on a stabilization mission to ravaged Gaza following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
France, a key player in Lebanon, condemned the deaths of the peacekeepers and called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting, which was subsequently scheduled for Tuesday at 14H00 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 or cutting fuel taxes to help consumers.
Market experts warned that any US ground operation or wider Iranian retaliation could send oil prices to levels not seen since the July 2008 commodity boom, when the cost of Brent crude, the international benchmark, hit close to $150 a barrel.
Brent has already risen nearly 60 percent this month, and the US benchmark WTI by more than half.
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.

Netanyahu claims success

Netanyahu said Israel had achieved key objectives including by "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 and has been playing a key role mediating indirect talks, 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. 
Trump has claimed to be in direct contact with senior Iranian figures whom he has not identified publicly.
Rubio said there were "fractures" within the Islamic republic and voiced hope that the Iranian officials allegedly in contact with Washington had the "power to deliver."
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, with cafes and restaurants open and no shortages reported in supermarkets or petrol stations.
Security remains tight, with checkpoints erected on streets around the capital.
"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."
burs-sct/js

media

'Is it Kafka?' US judge baffled by new Pentagon press policy

  • Theodore Boutrous, a Times lawyer, accused the administration at a hearing before Friedman in a Washington court on Monday of "gaslighting" and "bad faith."
  • The New York Times and Trump administration clashed in a federal court on Monday over restrictions imposed by the Pentagon on journalists covering the Defense Department.
  • Theodore Boutrous, a Times lawyer, accused the administration at a hearing before Friedman in a Washington court on Monday of "gaslighting" and "bad faith."
The New York Times and Trump administration clashed in a federal court on Monday over restrictions imposed by the Pentagon on journalists covering the Defense Department.
Judge Paul Friedman, in response to a lawsuit filed by the newspaper, ruled this month that new Pentagon policies regarding media access were unconstitutional and Times reporters should have their credentials restored.
The Trump administration has said it will appeal the ruling and the Defense Department responded with even tighter rules, closing a press area in the Pentagon called Correspondents' Corridor and moving reporters to an annex in a separate building.
In addition, under the new policy, "all journalist access to the Pentagon will require escort by authorized Department personnel."
Theodore Boutrous, a Times lawyer, accused the administration at a hearing before Friedman in a Washington court on Monday of "gaslighting" and "bad faith."
"We've seen this movie before," Boutrous said. "They made the press credentials that we fought so hard to get back meaningless."
Julian Barnes, a Times reporter, in a sworn declaration, noted that reporters were unable to access the new press facility on foot and were also not allowed to use a Pentagon shuttle bus.
"How weird is that?" Friedman responded. "Is it Catch 22? Is it Kafka?"
Barnes said Pentagon press accreditation pass holders were ultimately told they would be given permission to ride on the shuttle bus.
The judge, after hearing arguments from the Times and Sarah Welch, a lawyer representing the Justice Department, did not issue an immediate ruling.
US media and a host of other news outlets including AFP declined to sign the new access policy in mid-October, resulting in the loss of their Pentagon credentials.
The restrictions were the latest in a series of measures by President Donald Trump and top officials against journalists and outlets that are often derided as "fake news" when their reporting displeases the administration.
sst/cl/bgs

politics

Cubans ready for Russian oil but some say not enough

BY LISANDRA COTS

  • Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, whose country last sent crude to Cuba in January, said there have been talks with private firms about buying oil from Mexico's state-owned energy company and selling to private Cuban companies.
  • Cubans on Monday cautiously welcomed the imminent arrival of a Russian oil shipment, with some warning it would do little to ease an energy crisis after US President Donald Trump granted a reprieve from his oil blockade.
  • Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, whose country last sent crude to Cuba in January, said there have been talks with private firms about buying oil from Mexico's state-owned energy company and selling to private Cuban companies.
Cubans on Monday cautiously welcomed the imminent arrival of a Russian oil shipment, with some warning it would do little to ease an energy crisis after US President Donald Trump granted a reprieve from his oil blockade.
The Anatoly Kolodkin, a tanker under US sanctions carrying 730,000 barrels of crude, was due to arrive at the western port of Matanzas by Tuesday with the first oil shipment to the communist-ruled island since January.
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.
"We'll welcome it with open arms. You have no idea how badly we need that oil," said Rosa Perez, a 74-year-old retiree who was taking a walk near the Matanzas port as her house had lost power again.
"Let's see if things improve for us, even just a little...I can't take it anymore," she told AFP, voicing hope that more shipments will follow.
Others said it was not enough to solve Cuba's crisis.
"It's a drop in the bucket compared to what this country needs. It means next to nothing," said Raul Pomares, a 56-year-old gardener waiting for a taxi in Havana.
"It's a symbolic gesture that won't have any real impact on the economy for ordinary Cubans," he added.
Moscow said it was "pleased" that the tanker had reached Cuban waters.
"Russia considers it its duty to step up and provide necessary assistance to our Cuban friends," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that Moscow and Washington had been in touch over the shipment.

'Cuba's finished'

Trump said Sunday he had "no problem" with Russia or another country sending oil because Cubans "have to survive" but he predicted that it would have little impact.
"Cuba's finished, they have a bad regime, they have very bad and corrupt leadership, and whether or not they get a boat of oil it's not going to matter," Trump said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said there was no change in 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," she said.
Cuba lost its main regional ally and oil supplier in January when US forces captured Venezuela's socialist leader Nicolas Maduro.
Trump subsequently threatened to impose tariffs on any country sending oil to Cuba and has mused about "taking" the island of 9.6 million people.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, whose country last sent crude to Cuba in January, said there have been talks with private firms about buying oil from Mexico's state-owned energy company and selling to private Cuban companies.
She said Monday she had personally donated 20,000 Mexican pesos ($1,100) for humanitarian aid to Cuba.  

'A Band-Aid'

The Anatoly Kolodkin was moving along Cuba's northern coast on Monday evening on its way to Matanzas, a key oil port east of Havana, according to shipping tracker MarineTraffic.
It would take about 15-20 days to process the oil and another 5-10 days to deliver its refined products, according to Jorge Pinon, an expert on Cuba's energy sector at the University of Texas at Austin.
It could produce 250,000 barrels of diesel, enough to cover demand for around 12.5 days, Pinon told AFP.
The government would have to decide whether to use the fuel for backup power generators or for buses, tractors and trains needed to keep the economy going for two weeks, he added.
The oil would likely not be used for Cuba's aging thermoelectric power plants, which rely on the country's own crude production.
Cubans have endured seven nationwide blackouts since 2024, including two this month.
The blackouts as well as persistent shortages of food, medicine and other basics have fueled public frustration and some rare protests.
Retiree Orlando Ocana, 76, said the Russian shipment was a "Band-Aid."
"The real solution to our problems is building new thermoelectric power plants," he said.
lt/jgc

Moon

NASA begins countdown to April 1 Moon launch

BY CHARLOTTE CAUSIT

  • The first window to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida opens Wednesday, April 1 at 6:24 pm (2224 GMT), and NASA officials said the countdown began at 4:44 pm.
  • NASA began its two-day countdown Monday ahead of what is slated to be its first crewed moonshot in more than half a century, a long-anticipated loop around Earth's satellite that is to pave the way for future exploration.
  • The first window to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida opens Wednesday, April 1 at 6:24 pm (2224 GMT), and NASA officials said the countdown began at 4:44 pm.
NASA began its two-day countdown Monday ahead of what is slated to be its first crewed moonshot in more than half a century, a long-anticipated loop around Earth's satellite that is to pave the way for future exploration.
The first window to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida opens Wednesday, April 1 at 6:24 pm (2224 GMT), and NASA officials said the countdown began at 4:44 pm.
"The vehicle is ready, the system is ready. The crew is ready," Amit Kshatriya, the US space agency's associate administrator, said in a briefing.
"Behind this flight stands a campaign," he continued, noting recently announced plans including constructing a lunar base.
If Wednesday's launch is cancelled or delayed for any reason, there are more liftoff opportunities through April 6.
As of Monday evening, NASA officials voiced confidence that engineering operations and final preparations were proceeding smoothly.
"We'll fly when this hardware is ready," launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson told journalists.
"But certainly all indications are right now we are in excellent, excellent shape."
The four astronauts set to carry out the Moon voyage -- Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian colleague Jeremy Hansen -- are in quarantine ahead of their journey.
NASA officials said Monday evening that they would have the opportunity to have dinner with their families at a Florida beach house.

Cloudy with a chance of history

The odyssey will mark a series of firsts: the first time a woman, a person of color and a non-American will venture on a Moon mission.
It is also the inaugural crewed flight of NASA's new lunar rocket, dubbed SLS.
The mammoth orange-and-white rocket is designed to allow the United States to repeatedly return to the Moon in years to come, with the goal of establishing a permanent base that will offer a stepping stone for further exploration.
But getting it off the ground has not been simple. The Artemis 2 mission was originally due to take off as early as February but repeated setbacks stalled that goal and even necessitated rolling the rocket back to its hangar for analysis and repairs.
And then there is the weather: as of Monday, NASA reported that the forecast shows "an 80 percent chance of favorable weather conditions."
"Cloud coverage and potential for high winds on the ground" were their primary concerns, the agency said.
Teams are also monitoring solar weather.
"I'm just gonna make an appeal to the space gods, okay?" Kshatriya said to laughter on Monday.
mdo/js

US

What could Trump achieve by threatening Iran's Kharg Island?

BY FABIEN ZAMORA

  • Just 60 kilometres away is the city of Bushehr, an important military centre "from which the Iranians defend the entire northern part of the Gulf, including Kharg", noted Pierre Razoux of French research centre FMES. - Why do it?
  • A scrubby island in the Gulf that is roughly one third the size of Manhattan, Kharg Island is the nerve centre of the Iranian oil industry -- and at the heart of US President Donald Trump's latest efforts to pressure Tehran.
  • Just 60 kilometres away is the city of Bushehr, an important military centre "from which the Iranians defend the entire northern part of the Gulf, including Kharg", noted Pierre Razoux of French research centre FMES. - Why do it?
A scrubby island in the Gulf that is roughly one third the size of Manhattan, Kharg Island is the nerve centre of the Iranian oil industry -- and at the heart of US President Donald Trump's latest efforts to pressure Tehran.
On Monday Trump vowed that a failure by Iran to agree a deal to end the war could see the United States "completely obliterating" the export hub. 
A day earlier, he had said the United States could take the island, eyed by the Pentagon for ground operations, "very easily".
So what are Trump's options, and how might Iran react if he presses on this pressure point?

What is Kharg Island?

It may be a mere scrap of land, but Kharg  handles around 90 percent of Iran's crude exports, according to a report by US bank JP Morgan.
Located in the north of the Gulf, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Iranian coast and more than 500 kilometres from the Strait of Hormuz, it has no oil wells.
But it has Iran's largest oil terminal, oil pipelines, storage tanks and related infrastructure.
It also has military facilities, some of which have already been hit by Israeli-US strikes.
On March 13, "US forces executed a large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island", Centcom, the US military command for the region, said.
"The strike destroyed naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers and multiple other military sites. US forces successfully struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on Kharg Island, while preserving the oil infrastructure."
Sources close to US intelligence services told US broadcaster CNN Iran had deployed additional troops and defence systems to the area in recent weeks, including MANPAD-type surface-to-air missiles and mines.

Trump's options?

There appear to be three routes for US forces wishing to seize the island -– an airborne attack; an amphibious operation; or a combination of the two.
The Pentagon is currently moving US paratroopers and Marines into the area.
"(The) US combat force build-up sets the stage for (a) potential ground offensive in Iran," said US think tank Soufan.
Centcom former commander General Joseph Votel told The War Zone website this month it would not take that many soldiers to seize Kharg.
"On a small island like Kharg, I imagine you'd need a battalion of Marines. We are therefore talking about a force of 800 to 1,000 men, perhaps a little fewer, certainly not much more," he said.
But taking Kharg and holding onto it "are two different things", stressed Professor Phillips O'Brien of the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
He said the US military would struggle to retain the island within range of Iranian missiles and drones.
Just 60 kilometres away is the city of Bushehr, an important military centre "from which the Iranians defend the entire northern part of the Gulf, including Kharg", noted Pierre Razoux of French research centre FMES.

Why do it?

Trump's war goals remain hazy. It is unclear whether he primarily wants to force Iran to reopen shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz; force regime change in Tehran; coerce the Iranians into concessions on their nuclear or ballistic missile programmes.
In the short term, capturing Kharg could give Washington leverage to force Iran to negotiate -– presumably on Trump's terms, given the country's dependence on oil revenue, the Soufan Center said.
It might not have much effect in reopening the Gulf to shipping, however, because Iran controls a string of other islands in the Strait of Hormuz.
And if the Iranians choose not to cede to Trump's demands, "What does the US do?", O'Brien wondered.
"Does the US then, out of spite, level all the economic facilities on Kharg?
"That could easily boomerang back in American faces. It means oil prices skyrocket even more and stay high for much longer," he said.
"It also means Iran will be incentivised to shut down the traffic in the Straits for even longer. If they cannot get their own oil out, why let anyone else's?"
fz/dab-gil/st

Maoists

India declares victory over Maoist insurgency

BY ARUNABH SAIKIA

  • India in the last two years stepped up its campaign against the last remnants of the Naxalite rebellion, named after the village in the Himalayan foothills where the Maoist-inspired insurgency began nearly six decades ago.
  • India on Monday declared the country free of the Maoist insurgency, fulfilling a long-standing deadline to defeat the decades-long rebellion.
  • India in the last two years stepped up its campaign against the last remnants of the Naxalite rebellion, named after the village in the Himalayan foothills where the Maoist-inspired insurgency began nearly six decades ago.
India on Monday declared the country free of the Maoist insurgency, fulfilling a long-standing deadline to defeat the decades-long rebellion.
Home Minster Amit Shah told parliament India was "free" of the rebels, known as Naxals.
"I can say it openly, that we have become Naxal-free -- there is no hesitation in saying this," Shah told parliament, adding that "once the entire operation is completed, I will also inform the country."
India in the last two years stepped up its campaign against the last remnants of the Naxalite rebellion, named after the village in the Himalayan foothills where the Maoist-inspired insurgency began nearly six decades ago.
The rebellion controlled nearly a third of the country with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fighters at its peak in the mid-2000s, but had been dramatically weakened in recent years.
Most armed insurgents were limited to central Chhattisgarh state's Bastar region, a vast mineral-rich sprawl of dense forests and hills, roughly the size of The Netherlands.
"Bastar is now Naxal-free," Shah told the parliament during a 90-minute speech detailing the history and tactics employed by security forces to end the insurgency.
"The days of those who commit Maoist violence, of those who perpetrate Naxalism's violence, are over now," Shah added.
In 2025, security forces killed 364 insurgents, arrested 1,022, and another 2,337 surrendered, including senior leaders, according to statistics tabled in India's parliament.
Civilian and security force deaths have dropped by 90 percent since 2010, and annual Maoist attacks have fallen from more than 1,900 to roughly 200 last year.
Shah said the government strengthened the capacities of local police forces in the states affected by the insurgency and intensified coordination between security forces.
"We adopted an all-agency approach, not just weapons," Shah said, adding all but two of the Maoist commanders have either been killed or have surrendered.
"They will also surrender soon."
Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma told AFP earlier the state was entirely free of insurgents.
"Their entire armed cadre has been eliminated," he said.
All armed militants had been killed or had surrendered, Sharma said, adding that the movement "no longer has any organisational format".
The Maoists said they were fighting for the rights of marginalised indigenous people in forest regions, where mining companies also eye valuable resources.
More than 12,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians have died in the conflict since a handful of villagers rose up against their feudal lords in 1967.
Former Maoist rebel Vishnu Madvi, 26, surrendered in January after seven years  with the guerrillas.
"My commander was killed in 2025 in a police operation -- that I barely survived," Madvi told AFP on Monday, speaking from a rehabilitation camp.
"Our top leaders were all gone, the police was all over us -- so there was no option but to give myself up."
sai-pzb/mtp

espionage

Russia expels UK diplomat on spying allegations

  • "The accusations made today by Russia against our diplomats are complete nonsense," a foreign ministry spokesperson said, adding Russia was "pumping out malicious and completely baseless accusations about their work".
  • Russia on Monday kicked out a British diplomat over allegations he was working as a spy -- charges rejected by London as "complete nonsense".
  • "The accusations made today by Russia against our diplomats are complete nonsense," a foreign ministry spokesperson said, adding Russia was "pumping out malicious and completely baseless accusations about their work".
Russia on Monday kicked out a British diplomat over allegations he was working as a spy -- charges rejected by London as "complete nonsense".
Moscow and London have each expelled multiple embassy staff over the last decade, trading accusations of espionage.
Expulsions from one side have typically been followed by a tit-for-tat response from the other.
The diplomat was expelled for engaging in "subversive intelligence activities that threaten Russia's security", Russia's FSB security service said.
The diplomat was ordered to leave Russia within two weeks, the FSB said.
The Russian foreign ministry said it had summoned Britain's charge d'affaires over the incident and warned London not to retaliate.
Britain accused Russia of waging an "increasingly aggressive and co-ordinated campaign of harassment".
"The accusations made today by Russia against our diplomats are complete nonsense," a foreign ministry spokesperson said, adding Russia was "pumping out malicious and completely baseless accusations about their work".
"The UK does not stand for intimidation of British embassy staff and their families," the British spokesperson added.
Russia previously announced the expulsion of a British diplomat in January, prompting the UK to revoke a Russian diplomat's accreditation last month.
Relations between London and Moscow, currently at a low point over the Ukraine war, have been strained by spying allegations for decades.
In 2006, former FSB officer and Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko was killed in London, poisoned by polonium in what British investigators said was a hit by the Russian secret service.
In 2018, the UK said Russian double agent Sergei Skripal was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in the British cathedral city of Salisbury.
A member of the public was killed after handling the delivery device, a discarded perfume bottle, triggering the largest Western expulsion in decades of Russian diplomats alleged to be spies.
burs-am/jkb/sbk

diplomacy

Germany's Merz pushes return of Syrians as he hosts leader Sharaa

BY JASTINDER KHERA

  • After meeting Sharaa in Berlin, Merz said the two leaders were "working jointly towards more Syrians being able to return".
  • Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday said he and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa want 80 percent of Syrians in Germany to return to their homeland, as the former Islamist rebel leader visited Berlin.
  • After meeting Sharaa in Berlin, Merz said the two leaders were "working jointly towards more Syrians being able to return".
Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday said he and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa want 80 percent of Syrians in Germany to return to their homeland, as the former Islamist rebel leader visited Berlin.
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.
After meeting Sharaa in Berlin, Merz said the two leaders were "working jointly towards more Syrians being able to return".
The German chancellor, who has made a tougher immigration policy a priority since taking office last year, said he and Sharaa had agreed that eight out of 10 Syrians in Germany should go back "over the next three years".
On his first trip to Germany since ousting his country's longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, Sharaa also pledged to work with Germany to enable more Syrians to return.
Syria is "working with our friends in the German government to establish a 'circular' migration model", Sharaa said.
This would "enable Syrians to contribute to the reconstruction of their homeland without giving up the stability and lives they have built here, for those who wish to stay", he said.
Sharaa, 43, has managed to build relations with Western governments and made several overseas trips, including to the United States, France and Russia.
As a result, many international sanctions on Syria have been lifted to help the country rebuild after a bloody 14-year civil war.

'Premature normalisation'

Earlier, Sharaa told a foreign ministry forum in Berlin that Syria had experienced a "huge amount of destruction" during its long conflict, saying that Syrians "want to catch up with the rest of the world" as Germany did after World War II.
He pointed to investment opportunities in Syria's energy, transport and tourism sectors, describing his homeland as very diverse and with "a great wealth of human resources".
Merz said Germany wanted to "support" reconstruction in Syria as it struggles to rebuild after a long and bloody civil war, adding that a German government delegation would travel to the Middle Eastern country in the next few days.
However, Merz also said that he had stressed to Sharaa in their meeting "that many joint projects in the future will depend on our finding a state governed by the rule of law".
Rights campaigners have criticised Sharaa's Germany visit, pointing to his Islamist past and ongoing violence and instability in Syria.
Protesters gathered in front of the foreign ministry on Monday waving Kurdish flags and placards, highlighting Sharaa's time as an Islamist militant.
Near the chancellery, dozens of Syrians also turned out to welcome Sharaa, waving Syria's new revolutionary flag and a banner showing the president surrounded by hearts.
The German Green party's foreign affairs spokeswoman Luise Amtsberg told AFP Germany should not engage in a "premature normalisation" of Sharaa's government.
Merz had reduced Syria policy to the question of returns "and is ignoring the situation on the ground", she said.

'Authoritarian tendencies'

Since Sharaa has been in power, sectarian tensions have continued to cause repeated bloodshed in Syria, while the Islamic State group remains at large.
After Assad's overthrow, Israel moved its forces into the UN-patrolled demilitarised zone on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, and has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria as well as regular incursions.
Sharaa was initially planning to visit Germany in January, but the trip was postponed as he sought to end fighting between government troops and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in his country's north.
KGD, a group that represents the Kurdish community in Germany, has said that Sharaa "bears responsibility for numerous human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity".
Sophie Bischoff, president of the German-Syrian NGO Adopt A Revolution, told reporters that any support from the German government "must be linked to clear conditions" and warned that "authoritarian tendencies are on the rise again in Syria".
fec-jsk/sbk

US

G7 ministers pledge 'necessary measures' to ensure stable energy market

BY MARTINE PAUWELS

  • "We stand ready to take all necessary measures in close coordination with our partners, including to preserve the stability and security of the energy market," G7 energy and finance ministers, as well as central bank governors, said in a joint statement.
  • G7 economy and finance ministers Monday said 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.
  • "We stand ready to take all necessary measures in close coordination with our partners, including to preserve the stability and security of the energy market," G7 energy and finance ministers, as well as central bank governors, said in a joint statement.
G7 economy and finance ministers Monday said 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.
The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February, and Tehran has hit back by targeting crude-exporting countries in the region and halting most shipments through the Gulf.
The squeeze on supply has pushed oil and natural gas prices higher, with drastic knock-on effects for supply chains in multiple industries.
"We stand ready to take all necessary measures in close coordination with our partners, including to preserve the stability and security of the energy market," G7 energy and finance ministers, as well as central bank governors, said in a joint statement.
"We recognise the importance of coordinated international action to mitigate spillovers and safeguard macroeconomic stability."
They said they continued to monitor developments and their potential impact on global growth, and financial market conditions. 
The G7 ministers also called on all countries to refrain from imposing unjustified export restrictions on hydrocarbons and related products.
The G7 -- an informal grouping of the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan -- helps shape policy debates in the world's wealthiest nations.
France currently holds the rotating presidency of the G7 advanced economies.
"What's happening now in the Gulf is having energy consequences, economic consequences, financial market consequences and potentially inflation consequences," French Finance Minister Roland Lescure told reporters ahead of the meeting, which he chaired. 
The United States has sought support from the group to help halt Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz shipping route.
After a meeting last week, G7 foreign ministers said it was an "absolute necessity" for Iran to re-establish free passage through the strait and called for an end to attacks on civilian infrastructure.

'Act quickly'

Under increasing pressure, many governments have rolled out measures to limit the impact of supply difficulties and soaring energy prices. 
On Friday, the French government announced it would spend 70 million euros ($80 million) to help the fishing, agriculture and transport industries in April.
Lescure said on Monday that measures of support should be targeted and rapid.
"This is a crisis that affects all of us and that will result in costs for the nation," Lescure told reporters.
We need to "act quickly and act fairly," he said.
US officials, including President Donald Trump, have said their goals in the war are almost achieved, but thousands of US personnel have been sent to the region in an unprecedented military build-up.
Activists based outside Iran say the US-Israeli campaign has killed more than 3,000 people in the country, over half of them civilians, while Lebanese officials have said more than 1,000 have been killed there since Israel began attacking its territory in retaliation for Hezbollah attacks on March 2.
Officials in Israel and countries across the Gulf have also reported much smaller numbers of casualties.
bur-mpa-as/ah/st

aviation

Air Canada CEO to retire after row over English-only condolence message

BY BEIYI SEOW

  • Rousseau had sparked controversy by issuing an English-only video message to express condolences after a deadly collision late on March 22 between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
  • Air Canada said Monday that CEO Michael Rousseau will retire later this year, an announcement following controversy over his failure to issue condolences both in English and French for a fatal airport disaster.
  • Rousseau had sparked controversy by issuing an English-only video message to express condolences after a deadly collision late on March 22 between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
Air Canada said Monday that CEO Michael Rousseau will retire later this year, an announcement following controversy over his failure to issue condolences both in English and French for a fatal airport disaster.
Rousseau had sparked controversy by issuing an English-only video message to express condolences after a deadly collision late on March 22 between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
Canada has two official languages -- English and French --  and media reports noted that one of the pilots killed in the accident was from French-speaking Quebec.
Rousseau has informed the company's board that he will retire by the end of the third quarter, the airline said, adding that work is underway to choose his successor.
"The Board will consider a number of performance criteria in assessing candidates including the ability to communicate in French," Air Canada said in the statement.
Until he steps down, Rousseau is set to continue leading the company and serving on its board.
Air Canada is the country's largest airline and is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec -- Canada's traditionally French-speaking region. The company is required to offer services in both languages.

'Lack of judgement'

Rousseau had earlier issued an apology over his English-only message, saying he was saddened that his limited French "has diverted attention from the profound grief of the families."
"Despite many lessons over several years, unfortunately, I am still unable to express myself adequately in French," he said in a statement.
He added: "I sincerely apologize for this, but I am continuing my efforts to improve."
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has also criticized the CEO's conduct, saying he was "very disappointed, as others are, rightly so, in this unilingual message."
Carney added that the message showed a "lack of judgement and a lack of compassion."
Similarly, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand told AFP on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers meeting in France that all Canadian leaders, including corporate bosses, should speak both official languages.
"Canada is a bilingual country," she said.
In 2021, Rousseau also issued an apology over his lack of French proficiency.
At the time, he apologized for causing offense by giving a speech almost entirely in English, pledging to improve his French.
After remarks to business groups and comments to journalists that he had managed to get by without French for years, Rousseau faced backlash from politicians.
Quebec is the only Canadian province that is primarily Francophone.
bys/sms

leisure

Japan's cherry blossom season dazzles locals and tourists

  • - 'Good photo opportunity' - "We observed the cherry blossoms in full bloom on March 30," Kyoto Local Meteorological Office said.
  • Japanese locals and tourists packed the country's most stunning cherry blossom spots on Monday to enjoy the dazzling flowers at full bloom.
  • - 'Good photo opportunity' - "We observed the cherry blossoms in full bloom on March 30," Kyoto Local Meteorological Office said.
Japanese locals and tourists packed the country's most stunning cherry blossom spots on Monday to enjoy the dazzling flowers at full bloom.
The tiny white and pink petals of cherry flowers, known as sakura, herald the start of spring in Japan, and full bloom ushers in a brief period of boisterous outdoor parties held by residents.
Across the nation families and friends rolled out blankets and tarpaulins at parks, temples and even cemeteries over the weekend to eat and drink under cherry trees for traditional "hanami" or flower viewing gatherings.
Japanese people hold "very special feelings for sakura", said Tokyo resident Akiko Nyman, 48, as she admired flowers in crowded Ueno park in the centre of the capital.
"We love it, because it is so short... it doesn't last long, it comes every year, something very special," she said.
At this time of the year, weather forecasters are laser focused on when the blossom will peak in each city, and they advise excited residents on the best weather days for picnics and how long the flowers might last.
In the ancient capital of Kyoto, officials on Monday declared full bloom after examining a sample tree within the grounds of Nijo-jo Castle, a world heritage site.

'Good photo opportunity'

"We observed the cherry blossoms in full bloom on March 30," Kyoto Local Meteorological Office said.
Cherry flowers at ancient temples and shrines in Kyoto are particularly popular among visitors and locals.
Australian tourist Olivia Martell-Groves went all in for the seasonal experience, and donned a flower-printed kimono while marvelling at the flowers.
"We wanted to see them because they're really pretty, good photo opportunities and something you can only see in certain times of the year... and also it just feels so peaceful and nice," she said.
In Tokyo, the flowers reached full bloom during the weekend, entering a brief period of stunning beauty, before the petals will fall like flurries of snow.
The flowers symbolise both the youthful energy and the fragility of life in Japanese culture as full blooms only last about a week.
The season marks the start of the new business year when university graduates join the work force.
It is also a time of farewells, when school graduates leave their hometown while many corporate professionals receive assignments in new cities.
hih/aph/ane