diplomacy

UK's Starmer to face grilling from MPs over Mandelson scandal

BY PETER HUTCHISON AND JOE JACKSON

  • Starmer will give further details in a statement in parliament from about 3:30 pm (1530 GMT) Monday, before being grilled by MPs. "It's absolutely the case that had the prime minister been aware that UK Security Vetting had recommended against his security clearance, then clearly he would not have appointed Peter Mandelson," his spokesman told reporters Monday.
  • Embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer was to face lawmakers in parliament on Monday as he bids to quell anger over an unrelenting scandal involving long-time Jeffrey Epstein associate Peter Mandelson, who was the UK's ambassador to Washington.
  • Starmer will give further details in a statement in parliament from about 3:30 pm (1530 GMT) Monday, before being grilled by MPs. "It's absolutely the case that had the prime minister been aware that UK Security Vetting had recommended against his security clearance, then clearly he would not have appointed Peter Mandelson," his spokesman told reporters Monday.
Embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer was to face lawmakers in parliament on Monday as he bids to quell anger over an unrelenting scandal involving long-time Jeffrey Epstein associate Peter Mandelson, who was the UK's ambassador to Washington.
Starmer, already widely unpopular with the public and many Labour MPs, is struggling to manage a controversy that has threatened his grip on power.
He faced fresh calls to quit last week after it was revealed that Mandelson -- whose friendship with the late convicted US sex offender was long known -- became Britain's envoy to Washington last year despite failing security checks.
Starmer has insisted that he and other ministers were not told until last week that Mandelson had failed the independent vetting process, which he has branded "unforgivable".
Starmer will give further details in a statement in parliament from about 3:30 pm (1530 GMT) Monday, before being grilled by MPs.
"It's absolutely the case that had the prime minister been aware that UK Security Vetting had recommended against his security clearance, then clearly he would not have appointed Peter Mandelson," his spokesman told reporters Monday.
He added that Starmer would face MPs "with all the information and explain what happened".

'Unconventional'

Starmer has blamed Foreign Office officials for allowing the appointment to proceed against the advice of security officials. He sacked the department's top civil servant, Olly Robins, on Thursday.
Ex-civil servants have accused Starmer of scapegoating Robbins, who will give his own account to a parliamentary watchdog committee on Tuesday.
Opposition leaders have called for the centre-left Labour leader to step down, with accusations ranging from incompetence to wilful misleading of parliamentarians and the public.
Starmer told parliament in February that "full due process" was followed when Mandelson was vetted and cleared for the key role.
His Downing Street office has insisted that remains true because government rules meant the Foreign Office had the power to overrule vetting concerns, without the knowledge of Starmer and his top team.
On Friday, Downing Street took the unusual step of releasing a memo which insisted that he only found out about the vetting failure on Tuesday last week. 
It has also argued no laws prevent officials from "sensibly flagging" vetting recommendations to help ministers make judgements.
Senior ministers have so far rallied around Starmer.
"A judgement was made that the Trump administration was an unconventional administration and an unconventional ambassador could do a job for the United Kingdom," Scotland Secretary Douglas Alexander Secretary said Monday.
"That judgement was wrong and the prime minister accepts that".

Police probe

Other ministers have noted Starmer should remain in power amid the global tumult sparked by the Middle East war and other big issues, including forging closer relations with the European Union.
But polls suggest Starmer is one of Britain's most unpopular prime ministers ever.
If Starmer had known about the failed vetting "then he has to go he has to resign," retired dentist Andrews Connell, 59, told AFP. 
"If he knew that's really bad. If he didn't know, he should have known."
Pensioner Lyndia Shaw, 73, agreed saying Starmer is "absolutely hopeless, hopeless, and I feel that yes Mandelson should face the full force of the law without doubt".
But retiree Duncan Moss, 67, said he would be "very worried if Starmer was to leave and to not run the country. I think he's doing a very good job. I think he's a very mature, experienced leader".
Starmer sacked Mandelson in September 2025 after new details emerged about the depth of the ex-envoy's ties to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while facing sex-trafficking charges.
UK police are investigating allegations of misconduct in office by Mandelson, 72, when he was a Labour minister more than 15 years ago. He was arrested and released in February.
Mandelson has not been charged and denies criminal wrongdoing.
Starmer and his Labour party are also bracing for a chastening set of local elections next month, including in the devolved Scottish and Welsh parliaments.
pdh-jj/jkb/ach 

music

Amy Winehouse's father loses suit against friends selling her clothes

  • A few were described as "abandoned by Amy" therefore her father "has no ownership nor immediate right to possession".
  • The father of music superstar Amy Winehouse on Monday lost a UK lawsuit he brought against two of her friends, who auctioned some of her clothes and other possessions years after her death.
  • A few were described as "abandoned by Amy" therefore her father "has no ownership nor immediate right to possession".
The father of music superstar Amy Winehouse on Monday lost a UK lawsuit he brought against two of her friends, who auctioned some of her clothes and other possessions years after her death.
The late singer's former stylist Naomi Parry and her friend Catriona Gourlay sold dozens of items, including a black Armani bag and dresses Winehouse wore on her last tour in June 2011.
The court heard arguments in a trial that they "took advantage" of her father's forgetfulness and pocketed more than $1.4 million in sales.
Both denied acting dishonestly and said the items had been given or lent to them by the singer, even if there was no proof.
But Amy's father, Mitch Winehouse, sued the pair, alleging they did not have the right to sell the items, which went under the hammer between November 2021 and May 2023 by Los Angeles-based auctioneers.
Judge Sarah Clarke said in her written judgment that she found that "neither Ms Parry nor Ms Gourlay deliberately concealed any of their disputed items from the claimant".
"Even if I am wrong about that, Mr Winehouse could have discovered what disputed items the defendants had with reasonable diligence," she added.
Dismissing the case, the judge ruled that the 155 items, including ballet slippers, dresses, handbags, earrings and make-up were owned by the two women or gifted to them.
A few were described as "abandoned by Amy" therefore her father "has no ownership nor immediate right to possession".

'Extraordinary generosity'

Singer-songwriter Winehouse, who enjoyed meteoric global success, died in July 2011 from alcohol poisoning, aged just 27.
She was a distinctive figure with her beehive hairdo, heavy black eye make-up, multiple tattoos and smoky voice.
Winehouse shot to fame with her Grammy Award-winning 2006 album "Back to Black", which included the track "Rehab" charting her battle with addiction.
Parry said after the ruling that the court "has cleared my name, unequivocally and in full, after years of deeply damaging and unfounded allegations".
"I stood beside Amy as a friend, a creative partner, and her costume designer. What we shared was built on trust, loyalty, and a genuine love of the work," Parry added in a statement.
The judge ruled Winehouse had a "longstanding, close friendship" with both women before she even became famous and was known for her "extraordinary generosity towards her friends and also those she barely knew".
This "particularly involved gifts of clothing, fashion accessories and other style items to her close friends," the judge added.
"She had more items than she could ever wear, use or store" and routinely gave away clothes and accessories to her friends and family.
According to court documents, her father believed any sums collected from the sales organised by Los Angeles-based Julien's Auctions would be due to him and the Amy Winehouse Foundation.
The foundation is a charity set up in the singer's name working with young people to foster hope and self-reliance.
jkb/jj/rmb

Global Edition

Japan issues warning after 7.7-magnitude quake hits north

BY HIROSHI HIYAMA

  • In 2024, the weather agency issued its first special advisory of a possible "megaquake" along the Nankai Trough.
  • Japan issued a special advisory on Monday warning of an increased risk of earthquakes at magnitude 8.0 or stronger, after a powerful jolt rattled the country's north and prompted a tsunami warning.
  • In 2024, the weather agency issued its first special advisory of a possible "megaquake" along the Nankai Trough.
Japan issued a special advisory on Monday warning of an increased risk of earthquakes at magnitude 8.0 or stronger, after a powerful jolt rattled the country's north and prompted a tsunami warning.
The Japan Meteorological Agency's advisory came a few hours after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck in Pacific waters off northern Iwate prefecture at 4:53 pm (0753 GMT).
The jolt was so intense that it shook large buildings in the capital Tokyo, hundreds of kilometres (miles) from the epicentre.
The meteorological agency said that "the likelihood of a new, huge earthquake occurring is relatively higher than during normal times".
Municipalities in the affected region issued non-compulsory evacuation directives to more than 182,000 residents, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Around 40 minutes after the quake, an 80-centimetre (31-inch) tsunami wave hit a port in Kuji in Iwate, according to the weather agency, which which had initially estimated the magnitude at 7.4 before revising it upwards.
The agency said the later advisory about another possible earthquake only reflected an elevated risk, rather than providing any specific predictions.
"Although the probability is low, there is a possibility of another major earthquake occurring; therefore, please review your earthquake preparedness measures in these areas," it said in a statement.
By the evening, authorities slightly downgraded the tsunami warning but kept an advisory for possible waves up to one metre (3.3 feet) along the vast northeastern Pacific coast.
There were no immediate reports of serious injuries or significant damage, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a news conference.
Footage from national broadcaster NHK showed no clearly visible damage around several ports in Iwate.
But officials have reiterated that aftershocks could strike the area over the coming week, particularly within the next two to three days, potentially "causing even stronger shaking".

'Megaquake' fears

The prime minister's office said it had set up a crisis management team, and the government was working to establish whether there were any casualties or serious property damage.
"For those of you who live in areas for which the warnings have been issued, please evacuate to higher, safer places," Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said.
Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire".
The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences around 1,500 jolts every year and accounts for about 18 percent of the world's earthquakes.
The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth below the Earth's surface at which they strike.
Japan is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and caused a devastating meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
In 2024, the weather agency issued its first special advisory of a possible "megaquake" along the Nankai Trough.
This 800-kilometre undersea trench is where the Philippine Sea oceanic tectonic plate is "subducting" -- or slowly slipping -- underneath the continental plate that Japan sits atop.
The government has said a quake in the Nankai Trough and subsequent tsunami could kill as many as 298,000 people and cause up to $2 trillion in damage.
Another week-long "megaquake" advisory was issued in December 2025 after a magnitude-7.5 tremor struck off the northern coast, injuring more than 40 people but causing no major damage.
hih-tmo-aph/ami

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • "Qatar Civil Aviation Authority has issued a Notice to Airmen announcing the gradual resumption of operations for foreign airlines in the State of Qatar via Hamad International Airport," the body said in a statement.
  • The latest developments in the Middle East war: - Qatar flights - Qatar's aviation authority said it would begin allowing flights from foreign airlines to land at its main airport for the first time since the start of the Middle East war.
  • "Qatar Civil Aviation Authority has issued a Notice to Airmen announcing the gradual resumption of operations for foreign airlines in the State of Qatar via Hamad International Airport," the body said in a statement.
The latest developments in the Middle East war:

Qatar flights

Qatar's aviation authority said it would begin allowing flights from foreign airlines to land at its main airport for the first time since the start of the Middle East war.
"Qatar Civil Aviation Authority has issued a Notice to Airmen announcing the gradual resumption of operations for foreign airlines in the State of Qatar via Hamad International Airport," the body said in a statement.
 

Dutch aid to offset fuel hike

The Dutch government said it would allocate more than 950 million euros ($1.1 billion) to help compensate businesses and individuals for the surge in petrol prices since the war's outbreak.
"Energy prices are expected to remain high for the time being, even if the conflict in the Middle East should end soon," the government said.
"Households and businesses are already feeling the impact," it said, adding that they would be the priority for a first package of measures worth 627 million euros.
 

'Israel talks separate'

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said planned talks with Israel aim to end "hostilities" and stressed they were "separate" from Iran-US negotiations.
"The choice to negotiate aims to stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern regions and deploy the (Lebanese) army all the way to the internationally recognised southern borders" with Israel, Aoun said in a statement.
 

Iran slams US 'violations'

Iran's foreign ministry said it has yet to reach a decision on whether to attend the next round of talks with the United States, which it accused of "violations" of their two-week ceasefire. Earlier, US President Donald Trump said he was dispatching negotiators to Islamabad. 
"While claiming diplomacy and readiness for negotiations, the US is carrying out behaviours that do not in any way indicate seriousness in pursuing a diplomatic process," ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a weekly press briefing.
 

China 'concern'

China expressed "concern" over the US seizure of an Iranian-flagged vessel that tried to evade a naval blockade, and urged all parties to resume peace talks.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a phone call on Monday that "normal traffic" through the vital Strait of Hormuz "should be maintained".
 

Israel Lebanon warning

Israel's military warned Lebanese civilians against returning to dozens of villages in southern Lebanon, claiming Hezbollah's activities in the area were violating a ceasefire agreement struck last week.
Thousands of displaced residents have begun making their way back to parts of southern Lebanon since the truce between Israel and Lebanon took effect on Friday.
 

Iran executions

Iran hanged two men convicted of having links to Israel's spy agency, the latest in a string of executions of detainees regarded as political prisoners by rights groups since the outbreak of war with Israel and the United States.
The People's Mujahedin (MEK), an opposition group banned in Iran, confirmed the executions of MEK members Mohammad Masoom Shahi, 38, and Hamed Validi, 48. 
 

Israel soldier hits Jesus statue

 
The Israeli army said that it had determined an image circulating on social media that shows a soldier in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic and depicts one of its troops.
The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off of a cross. 
 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed appropriately harsh disciplinary action against the offender".
 

Oil price bounce

 
Oil prices surged on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States' blockade of its ports.
European stock markets were lower in late morning trading, also pressured by Tehran's announcement that it was not currently planning to attend peace talks.   
burs-ach/sbk

government

Slovenian liberal Golob fails to form government

BY BOJAN KAVCIC

  • He added that he had not found a partner among centre-right parties to join his party and its allies to secure a parliamentary majority.
  • Slovenian outgoing Prime Minister Robert Golob, whose party secured a razor-thin majority in parliamentary elections last month, on Monday said he had failed to form a coalition.
  • He added that he had not found a partner among centre-right parties to join his party and its allies to secure a parliamentary majority.
Slovenian outgoing Prime Minister Robert Golob, whose party secured a razor-thin majority in parliamentary elections last month, on Monday said he had failed to form a coalition.
His announcement opens the door for runner-up Janez Jansa, an admirer of US President Donald Trump, to seek to form a coalition in the EU member of two million.
"We are looking forward to our work in the opposition," liberal Golob, 59, told reporters after meeting President Natasa Pirc Musar.
He added that he had not found a partner among centre-right parties to join his party and its allies to secure a parliamentary majority.
Golob's liberals won 29 seats last month, while the conservatives of three-time premier Jansa got 28 seats in the 90-seat parliament.
Jansa -- who had frequent run-ins with Brussels during his last stint as prime minister -- has pledged to restore "Slovenian values," such as the "traditional family," and "close the (state money) pipe" to NGOs deemed political parties.
 

'Most ideal for country'

 
Jansa, 67, has publicly rejected any coalition talks.
On Monday, Jansa reiterated he was not in a rush to form a government while seeking to do what is "the most ideal for the country".
"The (Slovenian Democratic Party) SDS is not forming any government at the moment," Jansa told reporters after he also met Pirc Musar.
"This week we will concentrate on the constitution of the parliament, since that is on the agenda," he said, adding that, if needed, his party was "ready for new elections tomorrow".
Golob insisted on Monday that Jansa would form a coalition, saying he was "convinced that this coalition of fraudsters will not last long".
Although the SDS has denied any ongoing coalition talks, Christian-democrat Nova Slovenija and Jansa's former ally Anze Logar's Democrats -- who rejected on Friday any agreement with Golob -- have many common points with the SDS' programme.
Earlier this month, the parliament's inaugural session elected a lawmaker from anti-establishment Resnica party as speaker with the backing of Jansa's conservatives, Nova Slovenija and Logar's Democrats.
While Resnica party has rejected entering any coalition, Jansa may get its support after the SDS enabled the appointment of Resnica's leader as parliamentary speaker.
President Pirc Musar has to propose a prime minister designate to parliament within 30 days of its April 10 inaugural session.
If the candidate does not get a majority, the law sets a 10-day deadline for parties to propose a new candidate.
Golob, a former power company manager, was a political newcomer in 2022, when he topped the vote that year, propelled by anger over the Jansa government's crackdown on civil liberties.
Jansa has accused the Golob government during its last mandate of squandering money, behaving as if "money grew on trees" and sowing "chaos".
The last days of campaigning ahead of the March 22 vote were overshadowed by claims of foreign interference, with authorities probing whether Israeli company Black Cube was behind secretly recorded videos alleging graft in Golob's government.
A civil society group, together with an investigative journalist and two researchers, accused Black Cube over the videos, linking it to Jansa's party.
Jansa has admitted to having met a Black Cube official, but has denied being behind the videos.
bk-jza/cw

Israel

Iran says no plan for US peace talks

BY AFP TEAMS IN WASHINGTON, TEHRAN AND ISLAMABAD

  • "We have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.
  • Iran insisted it has no plan to attend a new round of negotiations with the United States on Monday, as uncertainty grows over a push to stop the Middle East war from resuming. 
  • "We have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.
Iran insisted it has no plan to attend a new round of negotiations with the United States on Monday, as uncertainty grows over a push to stop the Middle East war from resuming. 
US President Donald Trump said he was sending negotiators to Pakistan for talks on ending the war that engulfed the region and rattled global markets, while repeating threats to attack Iran's energy infrastructure if it did not make a deal.
After initial talks ended without a deal in Islamabad earlier this month, both sides have traded accusations of ceasefire violations, including the US seizure of an Iranian cargo ship early Monday that Trump said was trying to evade a US blockade of the country's ports.
"We have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.
"While claiming diplomacy and readiness for negotiations, the US is carrying out behaviours that do not in any way indicate seriousness in pursuing a diplomatic process," he added, calling the US blockade and cargo ship seizure "clear violations of the ceasefire".
Iran says the US blockade and attack breached the two-week truce set to end overnight Tuesday and threatened to retaliate, while Trump says Tehran has breached the ceasefire in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, which it has all but shut.
The counter-claims have thrown into fresh doubt the bid to end the war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran the morning of February 28, killing the country's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
"We're offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it," Trump said in a social media post.
Oil prices jumped sharply on Monday over fears hostilities could resume in the weeks-long war, after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again over the weekend following its brief reopening on Friday in recognition of a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Security tight

In spite of the uncertainty surrounding the talks in Pakistan, security has been visibly stepped up in the capital, Islamabad.
Authorities announced road closures and traffic restrictions across the city, as well as in neighbouring Rawalpindi.
The US president said his negotiators, whom he did not name, would arrive in Islamabad on Monday evening. 
A White House official said Vice President JD Vance would lead the delegation after Trump said he would not, citing security concerns. He would be joined by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, the official said.
Trump has been under pressure to find an off-ramp since Tehran moved to choke off the Strait of Hormuz.
But the cargo ship attack and naval blockade to cut off Iran's oil revenues drew renewed threats from Tehran instead of immediately bringing them back to the negotiating table.
On Sunday, Trump announced that a massive Iranian-flagged cargo ship "tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them," adding a US destroyer blew "a hole in the engineroom" before US Marines seized the vessel.
The ISNA news agency later cited a spokesperson for Iran's central command centre as warning that the military "will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy and the US military".
Tasnim news agency reported Tehran had sent drones in the direction of US military ships after Touska was seized and "attacked".
Iran's Revolutionary Guards for their part warned that any attempt to pass through the strait without permission "will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the offending vessel will be targeted".

Sticking points

Iran's foreign ministry said delays in implementing a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting militant group Hezbollah, was also a violation of the ceasefire.
A separate truce agreed between Israel and Lebanon took effect on Friday, which included Hezbollah, whose rocket fire in support of Iran drew Lebanon into the war.
Israel's military on Monday warned Lebanese civilians against returning to dozens of villages in southern Lebanon, claiming Hezbollah's activities in the area were violating that agreement.
Thousands of displaced residents have begun making their way back to southern Lebanon since the truce began.
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that the military would use "full force" against any threats in Lebanon, even during the ceasefire.
He also vowed to level homes allegedly used by Hezbollah, with Lebanese state media reporting that demolitions were underway.
Another major issue in the US-Iran negotiations has been Tehran's stockpile of enriched uranium.
Trump said on Friday that Iran had agreed to hand over its roughly 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of enriched uranium. 
"We're going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators," he said.
But Iran's foreign ministry has said the stockpile, thought to be buried from US bombing in last June's 12-day war, was "not going to be transferred anywhere".
Baqaei said on Monday that the issue of moving the country's enriched uranium was not discussed with US negotiators.
"It was never raised as an option for us," he said.
burs-jfx/ser

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • - Oil price bounce - Oil prices surged on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States' blockade of its ports.
  • The latest developments in the Middle East war: - US unserious - Iran's foreign ministry said it has yet to reach a decision on whether to attend the next round of talks with the United States, which it accused of "violations" of their two-week ceasefire.
  • - Oil price bounce - Oil prices surged on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States' blockade of its ports.
The latest developments in the Middle East war:

US unserious

Iran's foreign ministry said it has yet to reach a decision on whether to attend the next round of talks with the United States, which it accused of "violations" of their two-week ceasefire. Earlier, US President Donald Trump said he was dispatching negotiators to Islamabad. 
"While claiming diplomacy and readiness for negotiations, the US is carrying out behaviours that do not in any way indicate seriousness in pursuing a diplomatic process," ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a weekly press briefing.

China 'concern'

China expressed "concern" on Monday over the US seizure of an Iranian-flagged vessel that tried to evade a naval blockade, and urged all parties to resume peace talks.
President Donald Trump had said Sunday that the USS Spruance, a guided missile destroyer, fired on and seized the Touska, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, in the Gulf of Oman. 

Israel Lebanon warning

Israel's military warned Lebanese civilians against returning to dozens of villages in southern Lebanon, claiming Hezbollah's activities in the area were violating a ceasefire agreement struck last week.
Thousands of displaced residents have begun making their way back to parts of southern Lebanon since the truce between Israel and Lebanon took effect on Friday.

Iran executions

Iran hanged two men convicted of having links to Israel's spy agency, the latest in a string of executions of detainees regarded as political prisoners by rights groups since the outbreak of war with Israel and the United States.
The People's Mujahedin (MEK), an opposition group banned in Iran, confirmed the executions of MEK members Mohammad Masoom Shahi, 38, and Hamed Validi, 48. 

Israel soldier hits Jesus statue

The Israeli army said that it had determined an image circulating on social media that shows a soldier in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic and depicts one of its troops.
The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off of a cross. 
The Israel army said it viewed the incident with "great severity", adding that the "soldier's conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops", in a post to its official X account.

Oil price bounce

Oil prices surged on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States' blockade of its ports.
European stock markets were lower in late morning trading, also pressured by Tehran's announcement that it was not currently planning to attend peace talks.   

Syria foiled Hezbollah

Syria's interior ministry said Sunday that security forces had thwarted a cross-border attack in the southern Quneitra province by a cell linked to Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which denied the accusation.
In a statement, Syrian officials said they foiled a "sabotage plot" with hidden rocket launching equipment in a civilian vehicle, which was linked to Hezbollah and "aimed to destabilise the region".
The area borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Lebanon PM to Paris

French President Emmanuel Macron will on Tuesday meet Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Paris, his office announced, a day after a French peacekeeper was killed in Lebanon and amid a fragile 10-day truce between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
burs-sbk/gv

Israel

Iran executes two more members of exiled opposition: group

  • The hangings were the latest of detainees regarded as political prisoners by rights groups during the war between the Islamic republic and the United States and Israel.
  • Iran on Monday executed two more members of opposition group the People's Mujahedin (MEK), the organisation said, with Iranian authorities saying they had been hanged on charges of spying for Israel.
  • The hangings were the latest of detainees regarded as political prisoners by rights groups during the war between the Islamic republic and the United States and Israel.
Iran on Monday executed two more members of opposition group the People's Mujahedin (MEK), the organisation said, with Iranian authorities saying they had been hanged on charges of spying for Israel.
Mohammad (also known as Nima) Masoom Shahi, 38, and Hamed Validi, 45, were put to death at dawn in the central prison of Karaj outside Tehran, the MEK's political wing the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement.
They were both members of the MEK, which is banned in Iran, it added.
The hangings were the latest of detainees regarded as political prisoners by rights groups during the war between the Islamic republic and the United States and Israel.
Since executions resumed in March during the war that erupted on February 28, Iran has executed eight members of the MEK and seven men convicted over protests in January.
"With today's executions, at least 15 political prisoners have been executed since 19 March," said Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam, director of Norway-based rights group Iran Human Rights.
He warned of "further executions of political prisoners and protesters in the coming days and weeks." 
"The two members of the MEK join a growing number of heroic members executed this month under the rule of religious dictatorship," the group's leader Maryam Rajavi wrote on X.
"Their only 'crime' was their commitment to freedom and the liberation of their people," she added.
The judiciary's Mizan Online website said the two men were "members of a spy network linked to Mossad", Israel's intelligence agency.
They were convicted of the capital offence of "moharebeh", meaning waging war against God, as well as "collaboration with hostile groups and the Zionist regime", Mizan said.
The NCRI described the accusations against the men as "absurd".
Iran is the world's second most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups based outside the country, which accuse the Islamic republic of using capital punishment as a tool to instill fear throughout society.
Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people in 2025, the highest number since 1989, IHR and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) said in a joint report last week.
With a new round looming in Islamabad of possible talks between the US and Iran, Amiry Moghaddam added: "A complete halt to all executions and the release of political prisoners must be a central demand in any agreement with the Islamic republic."
sjw/ser

diplomacy

Pope Leo visits Angola's diamond-rich northeast

BY CLéMENT MELKI

  • Saurimo is the capital of the historically marginalised Lunda Sul province and close to Angola's largest diamond mine, Catoca, which extracts around 75 percent of the country's diamonds.
  • Pope Leo XIV heads to Angola's remote and diamond-rich northeast on Monday in the latest stop on an Africa tour during which he has spoken out against the country's glaring poverty. 
  • Saurimo is the capital of the historically marginalised Lunda Sul province and close to Angola's largest diamond mine, Catoca, which extracts around 75 percent of the country's diamonds.
Pope Leo XIV heads to Angola's remote and diamond-rich northeast on Monday in the latest stop on an Africa tour during which he has spoken out against the country's glaring poverty. 
On the eighth day of a trip to four African nations, Leo will fly to the town of Saurimo, 800 kilometres (500 miles) east of the capital Luanda.
Angola is one of Africa's top producers of crude oil and diamonds, but around a third of its population live below the World Bank poverty line.
Saurimo is the capital of the historically marginalised Lunda Sul province and close to Angola's largest diamond mine, Catoca, which extracts around 75 percent of the country's diamonds.
Leo will hold an open-air mid-morning mass expected to draw around 30,000 people.
Afterwards he is due to visit a home for the elderly, underscoring the Catholic Church's support for the province's poor infrastructure and services. 
Despite its mineral wealth, Lunda Sul suffers from poverty, with mining also blamed for environmental damage.
In his first event after arriving in oil-rich Angola on Saturday, the pope spoke out against the harm caused by rampant exploitation of natural resources, which has been a theme of his tour of the continent.
"How much suffering, how many deaths, how many social and environmental disasters are caused by this logic of exploitation," he said in an address to government officials including President Joao Lourenco.
The pope is due later Monday to meet clergy to discuss challenges facing the church in Angola, including a lack of resources and the growing influence of evangelicism.
After John Paul II in 1992 and Benedict XVI in 2009, Leo XIV is the third pope to visit this country, which was badly battered in a 27-year civil war that erupted after independence from Portugal in 1975. 
At a mass Sunday attended by 100,000 people, the 70-year-old pontiff called for Angola to overcome divisions of the past and create a future where "the scourge of corruption will be healed by a new culture of justice and sharing."
Leo's tour of Africa -- an 18,000-kilometre journey over 11 days -- began in Algeria a week ago and continued to Cameroon. It winds up in Equatorial Guinea over April 21-23.
cmk-fal-br/gv

defense

US begins 'biggest ever' Philippines war games in thick of Mideast conflict

  • Balikatan comes as Iran and the United States, along with Israel, edge towards the end of the two-week ceasefire that halted the Middle East war, ignited by surprise US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic.
  • Thousands of American and Philippine troops, joined for the first time by a significant contingent of Japanese forces, began annual military exercises Monday set against the backdrop of the Middle East war. 
  • Balikatan comes as Iran and the United States, along with Israel, edge towards the end of the two-week ceasefire that halted the Middle East war, ignited by surprise US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic.
Thousands of American and Philippine troops, joined for the first time by a significant contingent of Japanese forces, began annual military exercises Monday set against the backdrop of the Middle East war. 
The war games will feature live-fire exercises in the north of the Philippines facing the Taiwan Strait, as well as a province off the disputed South China Sea, where Philippine and Chinese forces have engaged in repeated confrontations.
In one drill, the Japanese military, which is contributing about 1,400 personnel, will use a Type 88 cruise missile to sink a World War II-era minesweeper off the coast of northern Luzon island.
More than 17,000 soldiers, airmen and sailors are taking part in the 19-day Balikatan, or "Shoulder to Shoulder," exercises -- about the same number as last year's edition, including contingents from Australia, New Zealand, France and Canada.
Balikatan comes as Iran and the United States, along with Israel, edge towards the end of the two-week ceasefire that halted the Middle East war, ignited by surprise US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic.
"Regardless of the challenges elsewhere in the world, the United States' focus on the Indo-Pacific and our ironclad commitment to the Philippines remains unwavering," US Lieutenant General Christian Wortman said at Monday's opening ceremony.
Without providing precise numbers, Wortman, commander of the Marine Expeditionary Force, later told reporters that approximately 10,000 US personnel would take part in the exercises.
Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner added that US Indo-Pacific Command chief Admiral Samuel Paparo had assured him at the war's outbreak that this year's Balikatan would be "the biggest ever".
Among the high-end weapons expected to be used is a US Typhon missile system that has been in the archipelago since visiting US forces left it there in 2024, provoking outrage from Beijing.
"We anticipate that it will be incorporated at some level during the course of the exercise," Wortman said.

'Playing with fire'

While both militaries insisted that no exercises would take place "near Taiwan", coastal defence drills are set fewer than 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the island's southern coast.
Beijing has ramped up military pressure around self-ruled Taiwan, which it considers part of its territory and has threatened to use force to seize.
China slammed the joint exercises on Monday, saying the United States, Japan and the Philippines were "playing with fire".
"What the Asia-Pacific region needs most is peace and tranquility, and what it needs least is the introduction of external forces to sow division and confrontation," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news briefing.
"We wish to remind the countries concerned that blindly binding themselves together in the name of security will only be akin to playing with fire -- ultimately backfiring upon themselves," he added.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos warned in November that given his country's proximity to the island democracy, "a war over Taiwan will drag the Philippines, kicking and screaming, into the conflict."
In February, US, Japanese and Philippine aircraft patrolled over the Bashi Channel that separates the Philippines from Taiwan to test what Manila called their "ability to operate seamlessly together in complex maritime environments".
Japan's first Balikatan as a full participant follows the signing of a reciprocal access agreement approved by the Japanese Diet last June.
Colonel Takeshi Higuchi of Tokyo's joint staff told Japanese media the drills would "contribute to creating a security environment that tolerates no attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force".
Marcos has been building up security ties with Western nations to deter China. Over the past two years, Manila has also signed visiting forces or equivalent agreements with New Zealand, Canada and France to facilitate joint military exercises.
Outside the Manila base where Monday's opening ceremony was held, a group of about 50 people protested against the exercises, holding aloft signs branding US President Donald Trump an "imperialist terrorist" and demanding US forces leave the country.
cwl-cgm-isk/dhw/ami

defense

US begins 'biggest ever' Philippines war games in thick of Mideast war

  • Balikatan comes as Iran and the United States, along with Israel, edge towards the end of the two-week ceasefire that halted the Middle East war, ignited by surprise US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
  • Thousands of American and Philippine troops, joined for the first time by a significant contingent of Japanese forces, began annual military exercises Monday set against the backdrop of the Middle East war. 
  • Balikatan comes as Iran and the United States, along with Israel, edge towards the end of the two-week ceasefire that halted the Middle East war, ignited by surprise US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Thousands of American and Philippine troops, joined for the first time by a significant contingent of Japanese forces, began annual military exercises Monday set against the backdrop of the Middle East war. 
The war games will feature live-fire exercises in the north of the country facing the Taiwan Strait, as well as a province off the disputed South China Sea, where the Philippines and China have engaged in repeated confrontations.
In one drill, the Japanese military, which is contributing about 1,400 personnel, will use a Type 88 cruise missile to sink a World War II-era minesweeper off the coast of northern Luzon island. 
More than 17,000 soldiers, airmen and sailors are taking part in the 19-day Balikatan, or "Shoulder to Shoulder," exercises -- about the same number as last year's edition, including contingents from Australia, New Zealand, France and Canada.
Balikatan comes as Iran and the United States, along with Israel, edge towards the end of the two-week ceasefire that halted the Middle East war, ignited by surprise US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
"Regardless of the challenges elsewhere in the world, the United States' focus on the Indo-Pacific and our ironclad commitment to the Philippines remains unwavering," US Lieutenant General Christian Wortman said at Monday's opening ceremony.
Without providing precise numbers, Wortman, commander of the Marine Expeditionary Force, later told reporters that approximately 10,000 US personnel would take part in the exercises.
Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner added that US Indo-Pacific Command chief Admiral Samuel Paparo had assured him at the war's outbreak that this year's Balikatan would be "the biggest ever". 
"Through integrated air and missile defence, maritime security operations, live fire exercises, and joint multinational readiness training, the nations are building systems that think, move, and respond as one," Brawner said. 
Among the high-end weapons expected to be involved during the annual exercise is a US Typhon missile system that has been in the archipelago since it was left by visiting US forces in 2024, provoking outrage from Beijing.
"We anticipate that it will be incorporated at some level during the course of the exercise," Wortman confirmed.

Proximity to Taiwan

While both militaries insisted that no exercises would take place "near Taiwan", coastal defence drills are set for the Philippines' northernmost Batanes island chain, fewer than 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the self-ruled island's southern coast. 
Beijing has ramped up military pressure around Taiwan, which it considers part of its territory, and has threatened to use force to seize the self-ruled island. 
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos warned last November that given his country's proximity to the island democracy, "a war over Taiwan will drag the Philippines, kicking and screaming, into the conflict."
In February, US, Japanese and Philippine aircraft patrolled over the Bashi Channel that separates the Philippines from Taiwan to test what Manila called their "ability to operate seamlessly together in complex maritime environments." 
Japan's first Balikatan as a full participant follows the signing of a reciprocal access agreement that was approved by the Japanese Diet in June last year.
Speaking on the sidelines to Japanese media, Colonel Takeshi Higuchi of Tokyo's joint staff said the drills would "contribute to creating a security environment that tolerates no attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force". 
Marcos has been building up security ties with Western nations to deter China. Over the past two years, Manila has also signed visiting forces or equivalent agreements with New Zealand, Canada and France to facilitate their participation in joint military exercises.
Outside the Manila base where Monday's opening ceremony was held, a group of about 50 people protested against the exercises, holding aloft signs branding US President Donald Trump an "imperialist terrorist" and demanding US forces leave the country.
cwl-cgm/cms

Kashmir

Anxiety lingers in divided Kashmir a year after shooting attack

BY PARVAIZ BUKHARI

  • Other than Rashid, at least three more families in the village have built their own bunkers since the May ceasefire.
  • When falling bombs shattered the usual calm of his Kashmir village, Mohammad Rashid set his mind to building a shelter for his family, ready in case fighting erupts again in the divided Himalayan region.
  • Other than Rashid, at least three more families in the village have built their own bunkers since the May ceasefire.
When falling bombs shattered the usual calm of his Kashmir village, Mohammad Rashid set his mind to building a shelter for his family, ready in case fighting erupts again in the divided Himalayan region.
The conflict last year between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan -- which both claim the whole of Kashmir -- was their worst in decades, following an April 22 attack that killed mostly Hindu civilians at a mountain resort.
The ensuing four-day military escalation saw both sides deploying drones, missiles and fighter jets, killing more than 70 people and leaving many residents reeling, in fear of getting caught up again in war.
"We fear another round like people living near the sea fear a tsunami," said shopkeeper Mohammad Majid from Rashid's farming village of Kasaliyan, nestled in the forested hills of Poonch district in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Before the fighting, Rashid had initially been working on a new kitchen with steel-framed windows and a properly sealed door meant to stop snakes from slithering in.
But a far more pressing threat arose as mortar shells rained on Kasaliyan, forcing the family to flee for safety.
"I realised that more than the snakes, my children needed protection from shells that can drop from across the border without warning," 40-year-old Rashid told AFP near the militarised frontier separating the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of disputed Kashmir.
He put aside the kitchen project, pouring his life savings into converting the structure into a makeshift bunker with reinforced walls and a concrete roof.
"I thought having a safe place is most important because shelling can start anytime again," Rashid said.

Killed seeking shelter

Leading up to last year's fighting, gunmen attacked a site near the resort town of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing 26 people.
According to witnesses, the attackers separated women and children from men, who were then shot dead on an alpine meadow.
The site has since been closed to tourists.
India blamed Pakistan for backing the attack -- a charge Islamabad denied -- triggering tit-for-tat diplomatic measures and a sharp military escalation.
New Delhi launched airstrikes on what it called "terrorist infrastructure" deep inside Pakistan, which responded with drones, mortar fire and aircraft deployment along the Kashmir frontier, known as the Line of Control.
In the morning after the first night of bombing, Rameez Khan and his wife Urusa left their Poonch home with their 12-year-old twins, hoping to reach safety.
But just after they stepped out, a shell hit the narrow street they were on, killing the children on the spot.
"I can't forget that street and that moment," said Urusa, her eyes brimming with tears.
A ceasefire was eventually agreed, but it was too late for her children.
"They told us about the ceasefire, but they didn't tell us how to stay safe before the bombardment started," said the mother.
The children were among at least 14 civilians killed in Poonch -- the worst-hit district on the Indian side where the violence reached areas once considered safe.

'In case it all starts again'

Kasaliyan, home to around 2,000 people, has a single government-built community shelter which can hold only about 40 people crammed tightly.
Authorities have not constructed new civilian bunkers, except for two large shelters for officials.
Other than Rashid, at least three more families in the village have built their own bunkers since the May ceasefire.
Many villages remain without shelters, despite decades of hostilities and two wars since Muslim-majority Kashmir was divided between India and Pakistan when they won independence from Britain in 1947.
Jagdish Kaur, 73, lost her son as well as much of her hearing when a shell struck her home during the latest fighting.
"Now any sharp sound makes me collapse," she said.
Retired police officer Mohammad Aslam, 67, fled his home at the first sign of escalation, a decision he believes saved his life.
When he returned after the ceasefire, his house had been badly hit.
The government paid him 100,000 rupees ($1,065) in compensation, but he has not touched the money.
"It's not enough to repair this kind of damage," Aslam said, pointing at cracked walls and the tin roof pierced by shrapnel.
"I've kept the money handy instead, in case it all starts again."
pzb/abh/ami/ane

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off of a cross. 
  • The latest developments in the Middle East war: - Israel says soldier hitting Jesus statue image authentic - The Israeli army said Monday that it had determined an image circulating on social media that shows a soldier in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic and depicts one of its troops.
  • The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off of a cross. 
The latest developments in the Middle East war:

Israel says soldier hitting Jesus statue image authentic

The Israeli army said Monday that it had determined an image circulating on social media that shows a soldier in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic and depicts one of its troops.
The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off of a cross. 
The Israel army said it viewed the incident with "great severity", adding that the "soldier's conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops", in a post to its official X account on Monday.
The incident is being investigated by the Northern Command and is currently being "addressed through the chain of command", the military added.

Oil prices bounce back on Iran war escalation

Oil prices surged Monday on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States' blockade of its ports.
However, lingering hopes that a deal to end the seven-week crisis continued to support equities, even as Tehran said it was not currently planning to attend peace talks.

US seizes Iranian ship

President Donald Trump said Sunday that USS Spruance, a guided missile destroyer, fired on and seized Touska, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, in the Gulf of Oman and US Marines were "seeing what's on board!"
Iran says it retaliated with drones in the direction of US military ships after one of its vessels was seized, Tasnim news agency reported.
The incident comes as the US and Iran vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for the world's oil and liquefied natural gas, which was virtually closed for weeks under pressure from the Islamic republic. 
Tehran briefly reopened the strait Friday in recognition of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire in Lebanon, but closed it again Saturday in response to the ongoing US blockade on ships traveling to and from Iranian ports.

Peace talks in limbo

Iranian state media reported Sunday that Tehran was not planning to take part in talks with the United States, hours after Trump said he was dispatching negotiators to Islamabad. 
"There are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks," state broadcaster IRIB said, citing Iranian sources. 
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Sunday he had spoken by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian -- which he described as "a warm and constructive conversation" -- and reaffirmed his government's readiness to mediate the conflict.

Syria foiled Hezbollah attack

Syria's interior ministry said Sunday that security forces had thwarted a cross-border attack in the southern Quneitra province by a cell linked to Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which denied the accusation.
In a statement, Syrian officials said they foiled a "sabotage plot" with hidden rocket launching equipment in a civilian vehicle, which was linked to Hezbollah and "aimed to destabilise the region".
The area borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

US negotiators going to Pakistan

Trump said US negotiators will be in Pakistan Monday to resume talks on ending the war with Iran, as he again threatened to destroy its power plants and bridges if no deal is reached.
Trump did not say who would lead the delegation, but a White House official said it was Vice President JD Vance, who led the last set of talks that failed to reach an accord.
Trump said in a social media post he was offering Iran "a reasonable deal" but if Tehran refuses, "the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!"

Lebanon PM to Paris

French President Emmanuel Macron will on Tuesday meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Paris, his office announced, a day after a French peacekeeper was killed in Lebanon and amid a fragile 10-day truce between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Israel warns 'full force'

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said his military will use "full force" in Lebanon -- even during the ongoing ceasefire -- should Israeli troops face any threat from Hezbollah.
Lebanon's military said meanwhile it has reopened a road and bridge between the city of Nabatieh and Khardali that was damaged by Israeli strikes in the south.

Iranian airport reopens

Iran will resume international flights on Monday from Mashhad airport in the country's northeast, its civil aviation authority said.

Turkey hopes for extension

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday he was "optimistic" that a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States that expires on Wednesday, would be extended, allowing more time for talks between the sides.
burs-gv/rh/sla/msp/ane/abs

US

Iran not planning to attend talks with US in Pakistan

BY AFP TEAMS IN WASHINGTON, TEHRAN AND ISLAMABAD

  • Iran and the United States, along with Israel, are just days away from the end of the two-week ceasefire that halted the Middle East war, ignited by surprise US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
  • Iran is not currently planning to attend talks with the United States, state media said, after President Donald Trump ordered US negotiators to travel to Pakistan on Monday, just days before a ceasefire in the Middle East expires.
  • Iran and the United States, along with Israel, are just days away from the end of the two-week ceasefire that halted the Middle East war, ignited by surprise US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
Iran is not currently planning to attend talks with the United States, state media said, after President Donald Trump ordered US negotiators to travel to Pakistan on Monday, just days before a ceasefire in the Middle East expires.
The ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports has been a significant sticking point, an issue further complicated by an American destroyer on Sunday firing on and seizing an Iranian ship that tried to evade it.
Tehran said it would retaliate with Tasnim news agency reporting that Iran had sent drones in the direction of US military ships after its vessel was seized.
State broadcaster IRIB on Sunday cited Iranian sources as saying "there are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks".
The Fars and Tasnim news agencies had earlier cited anonymous sources as saying "the overall atmosphere cannot be assessed as very positive", adding that lifting the US blockade was a precondition for negotiations.
State-run IRNA meanwhile pointed to the blockade and Washington's "unreasonable and unrealistic demands", saying that "in these circumstances, there is no clear prospect of fruitful negotiations".
Iran and the United States, along with Israel, are just days away from the end of the two-week ceasefire that halted the Middle East war, ignited by surprise US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
There has so far been only a single, 21-hour negotiating session held in Islamabad on April 11 that ended inconclusively, though groundwork for fresh talks continued afterwards.
"We're offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it," Trump said in a post on Sunday, while also renewing his threats against Iran's infrastructure if a deal is not made.

US fires on Iranian ship

Trump has been under pressure to find an off-ramp since Tehran moved early in the war to choke off the Strait of Hormuz.
The vital waterway is a conduit for a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas in peacetime, and its closure has hammered the global economy and roiled markets.
Having failed to force it open again, Trump countered with a US naval blockade on Iranian ports in an attempt to cut off Tehran's oil revenues.
On Sunday, he announced that a massive Iranian-flagged cargo ship "tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them."
A US destroyer warned the ship to stop and then forced it to by "by blowing a hole in the engineroom", Trump said, adding: "Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel."
Trump said the Iranian-flagged ship, Touska, is under US Treasury sanctions "because of prior history of illegal activity."
The ISNA news agency later cited a spokesperson for Iran's central command centre as warning that "the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy and the US military".
Tasnim news agency reported Tehran had sent drones in the direction of US military ships after it "attacked" and seized Touska.
Iran had briefly reopened the strait on Friday in recognition of an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire in Lebanon, but closed it again the following day in response to the United States maintaining its blockade. 
Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned that any attempt to pass through the strait without permission "will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the offending vessel will be targeted".
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei on Sunday said the blockade was "a violation" of the ceasefire and illegal collective punishment of the Iranian people.
A handful of oil and gas tankers had crossed the strait early on Saturday during the brief reopening, but by early Sunday morning tracking data showed the waterway empty of shipping.
The afternoon before, a trio of incidents involving Iranian fire and threats towards commercial vessels demonstrated the danger of any attempted crossing.

Heightened security

In spite of the uncertainty surrounding the talks in Pakistan, security was visibly stepped up in Islamabad on Sunday in anticipation of the negotiations.
Authorities announced road closures and traffic restrictions across the city, as well as in neighboring Rawalpindi.
The US president said his negotiators, whom he did not name, would arrive in the Pakistani capital on Monday evening.
A White House official said the delegation would be led by Vice President JD Vance and include Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
A major issue in the negotiations has been Iran's stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium.
Trump said on Friday that Iran had agreed to hand over its roughly 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of enriched uranium. "We're going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators," he said.
But Iran's foreign ministry has said the stockpile, thought to be buried deep under rubble from US bombing in last June's 12-day war, was "not going to be transferred anywhere", and surrendering it "to the US has never been raised in negotiations." 
bur-wd/sla/ane/abs

military

North Korea uses cluster bombs in latest missile test: KCNA

BY KANG JIN-KYU AND JIHYE SHIN

  • - 'Firm' defence posture - South Korea reported the test on Sunday, saying its military had "detected several short-range ballistic missiles" fired from the Sinpo area in eastern North Korea.
  • North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles that tested the power of its cluster munitions, its government news agency said on Monday, confirming the latest in a flurry of launches by the nuclear-armed state.
  • - 'Firm' defence posture - South Korea reported the test on Sunday, saying its military had "detected several short-range ballistic missiles" fired from the Sinpo area in eastern North Korea.
North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles that tested the power of its cluster munitions, its government news agency said on Monday, confirming the latest in a flurry of launches by the nuclear-armed state.
The Sunday launches, which were supervised by leader Kim Jong Un, aimed to "verify the characteristics and power of cluster bomb warhead and fragmentation mine warhead applied to the tactical ballistic missile", the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
They followed other tests in recent weeks of weaponry, including ballistic missiles, anti-warship cruise missiles and cluster munitions.
Neither Korea has signed the 2008 Oslo convention against cluster bombs.
South Korea condemned the launches and called on the North to cease "provocations".
KCNA said the manoeuvre tested the warhead of the Hwasongpho-11 Ra surface-to-surface tactical ballistic missile.
Five projectiles were fired towards a target area around an island about 136 kilometres (85 miles) from the launch site, it said.
They struck an area of 12.5 to 13 hectares with "very high density, fully displaying their combat might".
Kim "expressed great satisfaction over the test results" and noted that the development of cluster bomb warheads "can... boost the high-density striking capability to quell a specific target area as well as the high-precision striking capability", KCNA said.
Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said the reported range would put Seoul and key US military installations within Pyongyang's reach.
"This system appears designed to fill the gap between multiple rocket launchers and short-range ballistic missiles," he said.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies, noted that frontline corps commanders observed the test, in contrast to the weapons researchers who watched previous ones.
"This suggests the system is nearing operational deployment, with the capability to be launched directly from forward positions against South Korea and US bases," he said.
The United States stations about 28,000 troops in the South to help it defend against military threats from the North.

'Firm' defence posture

South Korea reported the test on Sunday, saying its military had "detected several short-range ballistic missiles" fired from the Sinpo area in eastern North Korea.
Seoul said it was maintaining a "firm combined defence posture" with the United States and would "respond overwhelmingly to any provocation".
"Pyongyang must immediately halt its successive missile provocations that are heightening tensions", and "actively engage in the South Korean government's efforts to establish peace", the defence ministry said.
But analysts said the tests signalled that Pyongyang had rejected Seoul's attempts to repair strained ties.
Among them was an expression of regret from Seoul over civilian drone incursions into the North in January, a gesture that Pyongyang initially seemed to welcome before reverting to describing the South as its "most hostile" enemy state.
- Two more destroyers – 
North Korea is subject to multiple United Nations sanctions banning its nuclear weapons development and use of ballistic missile technology, restrictions it has repeatedly flouted.
Earlier in April, Kim Jong Un oversaw tests of strategic cruise missiles launched from a naval warship, with official photos showing him watching the firings flanked by military officials.
Those tests were carried out from the Choe Hyon, one of two 5,000-tonne destroyers in the North's arsenal, both launched last year.
The North is also building two more 5,000-tonne class destroyers to add to its fleet.
Citing satellite imagery from a US-based intelligence firm, a South Korean lawmaker said this month that the North was "accelerating the naval forces' modernisation on the back of military assistance from Russia".
North Korea has sent ground troops and artillery shells to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and observers say Pyongyang is receiving military technology assistance from Moscow in return.
kjk-sjh/mjw/fox

fire

Residents return to ravaged homes months after Hong Kong fire

BY TOMMY WANG

  • For the first time since then, around 6,000 residents are being given three-hour windows to enter their homes from Monday and get their belongings.
  • Hong Kong residents who lost their homes in a massive fire at an apartment complex last year began returning on Monday for the first time to collect what is left of their belongings.
  • For the first time since then, around 6,000 residents are being given three-hour windows to enter their homes from Monday and get their belongings.
Hong Kong residents who lost their homes in a massive fire at an apartment complex last year began returning on Monday for the first time to collect what is left of their belongings.
The city's deadliest fire in decades killed 168 people when it ripped through seven of the eight apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court complex in November.
For the first time since then, around 6,000 residents are being given three-hour windows to enter their homes from Monday and get their belongings.
With 1,700 flats to pick through, authorities hope the process will be completed by early May.
An AFP reporter saw residents stepping out from government-organised shuttle buses as they arrived at the estate.
Officials have advised residents to prepare mentally, with the fire department warning that more than 920 homes had been damaged and some completely destroyed by the blaze.
Images released by government officials show the ceilings and walls of some flats have collapsed or been charred black, and the interiors littered with debris.
Damaged areas of the residential complex in Hong Kong's Tai Po district have been cordoned off as "danger zones", while reinforcement works have been carried out where the building structure was compromised.
Upon returning to their flats, residents were required to wear face masks, hard hats and gloves.
A 50-year-old resident surnamed Chung told reporters that he had prepared a screwdriver, scissors and plastic bags before returning to his flat on Monday.
"Once I'm up there, some places like the keyhole might be full of dust, and I'm worried I won't have the tools (to deal with it) if some parts need to be taken apart," he said.

'Wouldn't want to leave'

Survivor Harry Leung, one of the last residents to leave the complex on the day of the blaze, told AFP that he had mixed emotions about his return.
While keen to see the flat where he had spent most of his life, he said he was disappointed by the short time frame he was allowed to spend there.
Three hours, he said, was not enough time.
Hong Kong officials have offered to buy the apartments back around the pre-fire market price, despite the damage, but said that rebuilding the complex on the same site was "not feasible".
"I believe there are actually quite a few people who don't want to accept (the government's offer), but have no other options. They've been forced to accept it," Leung told AFP.
"If I had a choice, I really wouldn't want to leave (Wang Fuk Court)," he said.
Betty Ho, who plans to return in May to the flat she lived in for more than 30 years, told AFP that what she wants most to retrieve are the photo albums of her childhood.
Her family's "entire life's possessions are inside that building", Ho said.
After the fire -- the world's deadliest residential building blaze since 1980 -- Ho relocated to temporary housing set up for Wang Fuk Court residents near the estate.
For now, she is allowed to stay there until the end of the year, but she told AFP she felt anxious and powerless when faced with the uncertainty of her future accommodation.
"Will we be evicted?" she asked. "Where will I find somewhere to live?"
twa/dhw/abs

Iran

Pakistan's military chief takes lead on US-Iran talks in diplomatic blitz

BY SAMEER MANDHRO AND ASAD HASHIM

  • Building on that momentum, Pakistan's leaders have been pushing for a second round of talks in Islamabad, with security being stepped up across the capital on Sunday in anticipation.
  • Over a feverish few days of diplomacy, Pakistan's military and civilian politicians successfully divided the Middle East between them to push for a second round of US-Iran peace talks expected to take place in Islamabad this week.
  • Building on that momentum, Pakistan's leaders have been pushing for a second round of talks in Islamabad, with security being stepped up across the capital on Sunday in anticipation.
Over a feverish few days of diplomacy, Pakistan's military and civilian politicians successfully divided the Middle East between them to push for a second round of US-Iran peace talks expected to take place in Islamabad this week.
The country's powerful military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, headed to Tehran on Wednesday for what would become a three-day trip, where Iranian leaders said he carried US proposals for a second round of peace talks.
Simultaneously, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his foreign minister conducted a whirlwind diplomatic tour across regional allies Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.
The twin trips illustrate the coordination at play in what is often described as a "hybrid regime" in Pakistan, and Munir's central role in the negotiating process.
"The synergy that is going on right now is giving results, and to take this momentum forward all this synergy will be needed," said Sheharyar Khan, executive director of the Islamabad-based National Dialogue Forum.
Munir was one of two Pakistani mediators in the room during face-to-face talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad on April 11.
"It's not political leadership that takes the decision in these kinds of situations, but the military leadership," said a Pakistani official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official described Munir's visit to Iran as "important" in bringing both sides back to the negotiating table.
"The deal is almost done. He is the only person who can convince Iranians for a deal -- that's because of the trust level."

'Who is the strong man?'

While a first round of peace talks between the United States and Iran did not yield an agreement, it did lead to the highest-level face-to-face negotiations between the two sides in decades, and communications channels remained open -- through Pakistan.
Building on that momentum, Pakistan's leaders have been pushing for a second round of talks in Islamabad, with security being stepped up across the capital on Sunday in anticipation.
Munir's rise on the global stage has coincided with a consolidation of military power in Pakistan, which has seen him given unprecedented legal immunity and an extended term.
The military as a whole has also taken a more prominent role in governance.
Critics and the political opposition say the moves, as well as sweeping constitutional reforms, have eroded democracy in the country.
However, the military has repeatedly denied meddling in the civilian domain -- even though it ruled Pakistan for nearly half its existence through a series of coups since independence in 1947.
The National Dialogue Forum's Khan said that, while both civilians and military leaders were working closely together in the current system, it was Munir who had the authority to call the shots.
"Who is the person who can give the results? Who is the strong man? Who is controlling? Who is in the lead? That is obviously Mr. Field Marshal," Khan said.
Munir has also built a close relationship with US President Donald Trump -- who often refers to him as his "favourite field marshal" -- since a brief but intense war with India last year.
Adam Weinstein, deputy director of the Middle East programme at Washington's Quincy Institute, said that relationship was crucial.
"Munir focused on Iran because it's the key stakeholder and he's seen as having the closest relationship with Trump," he said. 
"... the prime minister focused on regional states with more traditional foreign policy bureaucracies, whose buy-in matters, but is less critical."
Muhammad Saeed, a retired Pakistani general, told AFP that Munir was in "direct communication" with the US leadership to negotiate through sticking points in the dialogue with Iran.
"His presence is bringing both the sides to a middle ground," he said.
aha-sma/je/pbt

diplomacy

Nations gather for first-ever conference on fossil fuel exit

BY NICK PERRY, WITH ANNA PELEGRI IN RIO DE JANEIRO

  • But heat-trapping emissions from burning coal, oil and gas rose again in 2025 to a record high.
  • More than 50 nations are attending a world-first conference on phasing out fossil fuels in Colombia next week as the Iran war underscores how dependent countries remain on planet-heating coal, oil and gas.
  • But heat-trapping emissions from burning coal, oil and gas rose again in 2025 to a record high.
More than 50 nations are attending a world-first conference on phasing out fossil fuels in Colombia next week as the Iran war underscores how dependent countries remain on planet-heating coal, oil and gas.
Ministers arrive in the Caribbean city of Santa Marta against a backdrop of wartime fuel shortages, soaring prices and a scramble for energy security in what the International Energy Agency has called the biggest oil supply shock ever.
The gathering was born out of frustration with consensus-based United Nations climate talks, where efforts to negotiate a fossil fuel exit strategy have stalled.
But organisers say the energy shock caused by Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the key transit point for Gulf oil and gas shipments, has strengthened the case for a fossil fuel phaseout, even as some countries look to coal in the short-term to secure supplies.
Concerns over energy security are expected to shape the high-level discussions over April 28 and 29 as much as climate priorities, analysts say.
The meeting was announced months ago but has taken on "greater relevance" with the energy crisis, said Colombia's environment minister Irene Velez Torres, whose country is co-hosting with the Netherlands.
Major fossil fuel producing nations Australia, Canada and Norway are expected along with developing oil giants Angola, Mexico and Brazil and coal-reliant emerging markets Turkey and Vietnam. 
They will join dozens of other countries from small-island developing states to major economies Germany, France and the UK.
However the world's biggest coal, oil and gas producers -- notably the United States, China, Saudi Arabia and Russia -- are skipping the event.

'Honest space'

It will be closely watched for political signals from an emerging coalition of fossil fuel producers and consumers pushing for a phaseout outside the UN process.
Colombia -- a coal and oil exporter -- said the "strategically important" participating countries accounted for one-fifth of global fossil fuel production and nearly one-third of consumption.
Fossil fuel interests have been accused of influencing UN negotiations on climate change and some governments and activists have questioned the involvement of producer nations in Santa Marta. 
"The larger the group of countries, the more diffused the interests are and the less chance you've got of getting a sharp outcome," climate scientist Bill Hare, founder of Climate Analytics think tank, told AFP.
Velez Torres said, however, it was a "major step forward" to have producer countries present tackling this "taboo".
"We need to start a more honest space where we can discuss this more openly, and bring all cards to the table. Nobody is saying that the way to eliminating fossil fuels is easy. But we need to bring these people together," she said.
For some, the conference's appeal is partly its distance from the UN climate talks.
"I think the Santa Marta meeting is long overdue," Maina Talia, climate minister of low-lying Tuvalu, told reporters.

Energy bind

Roughly twice as much investment goes into clean energy as fossil fuels, which are the primary driver of human-caused climate change.
But heat-trapping emissions from burning coal, oil and gas rose again in 2025 to a record high.
In response to the energy crisis, some countries intend to ramp up coal use to plug short-term supply gaps, underlining the challenge of reducing reliance on fossil fuels even in advanced economies.
Vanuatu's Climate Minister Ralph Regenvanu, whose Pacific Island nation is highly reliant on energy imports, told reporters the crisis was "unequivocally a call to lessen dependence on fossil fuels for everyone".
"We're very much looking forward to being first movers in this space," said Regenvanu.
Nearly 200 countries agreed at COP28 in 2023 to transition away from fossil fuels but efforts to turn that pledge into action have faced strong resistance since.
Tensions boiled over at COP30 in Brazil in November when nations could not even agree to include an explicit reference to fossil fuels in the final deal.
Santa Marta was less a rival to the UN talks than an opportunity for motivated nations "to take concrete steps forward", said Beth Walker, an analyst from the E3G think tank.
"There's a lot of difficult questions and issues to grapple with, but this is an important conversation and I think can start to create its own legitimacy and momentum in the long run," Walker told AFP.
No major announcements are expected but the conference's recommendations will feed into a voluntary "roadmap" away from fossil fuels being led by Brazil.
np-app/lt/ach/ane

US

Money, lobbyists, inertia: why fossil fuels are so hard to quit

BY ANNA PELEGRI

  • But little progress has been made since then, even though the vast majority of scientists agree there's overwhelming evidence of global warming and that it is driven chiefly by the burning of fossil fuels.
  • When the international community agreed to transition away from fossil fuels at the 2023 COP28 global climate summit, some hailed the moment as the beginning of the end for oil.
  • But little progress has been made since then, even though the vast majority of scientists agree there's overwhelming evidence of global warming and that it is driven chiefly by the burning of fossil fuels.
When the international community agreed to transition away from fossil fuels at the 2023 COP28 global climate summit, some hailed the moment as the beginning of the end for oil.
But little progress has been made since then, even though the vast majority of scientists agree there's overwhelming evidence of global warming and that it is driven chiefly by the burning of fossil fuels.
The Middle East war, meanwhile, has shown that the world is as dependent as ever on "black gold," with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz holding the global economy and energy supply in a chokehold. 
Some have pointed to the ripple effects of the war as yet another reason to decrease humanity's dependence on fossil fuels. But several global trends indicate the 2023 promise is still a ways away from coming true. 
Among them is the agenda of US President Donald Trump, whose energy slogan is "drill, baby, drill" and has intervened with military force in two countries with vast crude reserves: Venezuela and Iran. 
But why is it so hard for countries to quit oil? Here are some factors:

It's the economy

If financial markets rise and fall with the fluctuating price of crude, it's because they have deep ties to assets linked to hydrocarbons. 
"We cannot make the transition by shutting down fossil fuel companies overnight, because that would be an unprecedented worldwide economic disaster," Claudio Angelo, the international policy coordinator at Brazil's Climate Observatory, told AFP. 
The economies of some countries like Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are completely dependent on oil. 
But Angelo said that even for other countries with more diverse economic models, like Brazil, removing crude oil exports would be enough to tank the economy.

'Political will'

Bill Hare, director of a policy institute called Climate Analytics, said some oil-exporting countries like the United States, Canada and Australia have the means to undertake a green energy transition. 
"For these countries, I think it's a matter of political will," he told AFP. 
But with Trump back in Washington, along with a host of other right-wing leaders assuming power around the globe, economic interests are once again being prioritized over the issue of global warming -- with some denying the climate phenomenon even exists. 
"There is a whole vision of the West, led by the United States, of going back to a model that's already been tried," said Leonardo Stanley, an associate researcher at the Center for the Study of State and Society in Buenos Aires.

Powerful lobbyists

"The oil and gas sector is the most powerful lobbying interest on Earth," Climate Observatory's Angelo said. 
"For 30 years, they have been playing for time to delay changes," he added.
For example, an AFP investigation in 2023 showed that consulting firm McKinsey, with clients such as ExxonMobil in the United States and Saudi Arabia's Aramco, defended their interests during a preparatory meeting for COP28.

Who foots the bill?

To move away from oil, financial support is needed for both wealthy oil-producing countries and poorer countries entirely dependent on oil imports. 
"But to start this process it's got to be some willingness from the big economic powers, the middle and big economic powers to actually come up with an international system that will facilitate this," Hare said.
Despite the headwinds, there has been some progress made in transitioning to green energy. 
Renewable energy sources accounted for nearly half of global electricity capacity in 2025, a record, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). 
China, the world's largest producer of greenhouse gasses, nevertheless has become a global leader in renewable energy production, increasing its wind and solar power capacities substantially within the past year. 
And in Pakistan, solar power has gone from being a marginal source of power in 2020 to one of its main source of electricity today. 
Hare highlighted renewable energy sources have also led to decreased electricity bills in some regions of the United States and Australia.
app/ll/jgc/sla/dw/msp

leadership

'Save humanity': Four figures battling it out to lead embattled UN

BY AMéLIE BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS

  • All four candidates to take over the embattled UN when Guterres departs on December 31, 2026 pledge to grow trust in the bitterly divided organization that faces financial Armageddon because of Washington's refusal to pay its bills.
  • Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as leader of the United Nations, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis.
  • All four candidates to take over the embattled UN when Guterres departs on December 31, 2026 pledge to grow trust in the bitterly divided organization that faces financial Armageddon because of Washington's refusal to pay its bills.
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as leader of the United Nations, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis.
Chile's Michelle Bachelet, Argentina's Rafael Grossi, Costa Rican Rebeca Grynspan, and Senegal's Macky Sall will each face grillings by 193 member states and NGOs for three hours on Tuesday and Wednesday. 
It is only the second time the UN has held a public Q&A, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. 
Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN's top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the global organization as its secretary-general. 
US President Donald Trump's envoy to the Manhattan-based UN, Mike Waltz, has warned the next chief must align with "American values and interests" and that Washington would back the best candidate -- not necessarily a Latin American woman, as some countries are demanding.
All four candidates to take over the embattled UN when Guterres departs on December 31, 2026 pledge to grow trust in the bitterly divided organization that faces financial Armageddon because of Washington's refusal to pay its bills.
Here is a look at the contenders:
- Michelle Bachelet - 
A Chilean socialist brutally tortured by the regime of Augusto Pinochet, Bachelet became her country's first woman president in 2006.
She went on to be the UN rights chief, a sensitive role in which she alienated some countries, especially China, which mauled her for reporting on alleged abuses of the Uyghur people.
Bachelet, 74, has said that she is "convinced" she has the experience "to confront a moment" marked by unprecedented crises and conflicts. 
She is backed by Mexico and Brazil -- but Chile withdrew its backing after far-right President Jose Antonio Kast took office.
- Rafael Grossi - 
The 65-year-old Grossi, a career diplomat, has led the International Atomic Energy Agency since 2019, propelling him into the middle of the battle over Iran's nuclear program as well as the Russian occupation of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. 
His handling of the two situations has drawn close scrutiny from the United States and Russia, which both have veto power on the Security Council.
Grossi has called for the UN to "return to its founding promise -- to save humanity from the scourge of war."

Rebeca Grynspan

Less well-known than her opponents, Grynspan -- Costa Rica's former vice president -- leads the UN trade and development body UNCTAD, pulling off a diplomatic feat by brokering the Black Sea Grain Initiative between Moscow and Kyiv to allow grain exports following Russia's invasion.  
In her pitch to world leaders, the 70-year-old plays up her personal story as the daughter of Jewish parents.
She said they "barely survived" the Holocaust before emigrating to Costa Rica, stressing her attachment to the UN Charter, calling the document signed as World War II came to an end a "standing warning against the perils of dehumanization, distrust and fragmentation."
- Macky Sall - 
Macky Sall, 64, is the only candidate who does not come from Latin America, from where the next UN boss should come, according to convention. 
The former Senegalese president has stressed the link between peace and development in his pitch to lead the UN.
He said peace can never be "sustainable" if development is undermined "by poverty, inequality, exclusion and climate vulnerability." 
Proposed by Burundi, the current chair of the African Union, Sall is supported neither by the regional African bloc -- 20 of its 55 members oppose him -- nor by his own country. 
Senegalese authorities accuse him of bloodily repressing violent political demonstrations that left dozens dead between 2021 and 2024.
abd-gw/sst