US

Israel launches new strikes on Tehran as Iran takes aim at Gulf sites

airports

US deploys immigration agents to airports amid shutdown chaos

BY JOHN FALCHETTO WITH FRANKIE TAGGART IN WASHINGTON

  • At Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where fliers have experienced some of the longest waits, travelers voiced hopes that ICE agents would be able to bring some order to the disruption.
  • The US immigration agency at the center of a firestorm over heavy-handed enforcement tactics began deploying Monday to major airports, as officials scrambled to ease mounting travel disruption during a prolonged, partial government shutdown.
  • At Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where fliers have experienced some of the longest waits, travelers voiced hopes that ICE agents would be able to bring some order to the disruption.
The US immigration agency at the center of a firestorm over heavy-handed enforcement tactics began deploying Monday to major airports, as officials scrambled to ease mounting travel disruption during a prolonged, partial government shutdown.
The move places Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel -- already under intense scrutiny after fatal shootings linked to immigration operations -- in highly visible roles at crowded transport hubs across the country.
Officials say the agents are being sent to at least 14 airports, including in New York, Chicago and Atlanta, to assist overstretched Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff, many of whom have gone weeks without full pay.
The agents will not conduct passenger screening but are expected to handle support roles such as monitoring exits and managing logistics, allowing TSA officers to focus on security checks.
The deployment comes as airports struggle with long delays during a busy travel period for the annual spring break, with some passengers reporting waits of several hours.
Unscheduled absences among TSA staff have surged to their highest levels since the beginning of the shutdown, which has halted the operations of the TSA parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security -- raising concerns about safety and system strain.
Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's point man on border security, told CNN the move was a temporary measure to "help TSA move those lines along," while Trump framed it as part of a broader effort to maintain security during the funding standoff.
The president told reporters he had not ruled out bolstering the deployment with National Guard troops.
At Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where fliers have experienced some of the longest waits, travelers voiced hopes that ICE agents would be able to bring some order to the disruption.

Shutdown talks deadlocked

"I came yesterday for a 5:15 pm flight. I got here at 2:30 and by the time I made it through TSA and got to my gate my plane departed and I missed my flight," nurse Angeline Peart, 27, told AFP. "I had to be rebooked for today."
"We're hopeful to see if they're able to help out and see if we can get on our plane to go home today," added Suez Khan, a 28-year-old artist.
But the decision has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats, rights activists and some Republicans, who warn it risks escalating tensions in already stressed environments.
The controversy reflects broader unease over the administration's immigration crackdown, which has sparked protests and legal challenges in several states.
In Minnesota earlier this year, two US citizens -- Renee Good and Alex Pretti -- were killed in separate encounters with federal immigration officers, incidents that fueled nationwide outrage and scrutiny of enforcement tactics.
Good, a mother of three, was shot by an ICE agent during an operation, while Pretti, an intensive care nurse, was later killed by officers from Customs and Border Protection during a related deployment.
Against that backdrop, the airport deployment has taken on outsized significance, highlighting the increasingly blurred lines between immigration enforcement and domestic security roles.
Meanwhile, negotiations in Washington remain deadlocked.
Democrats have pushed to reopen most of the Department of Homeland Security while demanding new limits on immigration enforcement, while Republicans have resisted those conditions.
Trump has further complicated talks by insisting he will not sign any funding deal unless Congress also passes the SAVE America Act, a contentious bill to overhaul how citizens register to vote in US elections.
With no breakthrough in sight and Congress nearing a recess, officials warn the disruption could deepen -- leaving airports, and the wider system, under growing strain.
ft/mlm

US

Middle East war: global economic fallout

  • Oil prices had been higher earlier in the day after the US and Israel warned at the weekend that the war against Iran, which has disrupted oil deliveries through the Strait of Hormuz, would continue for several more weeks.
  • Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war on Monday: - Oil tumbles on peace hopes - Oil prices tumbled more than 10 percent after US President Donald Trump said the United States and Iran were holding "very good and productive" talks and that he would postpone threatened strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure as a result.
  • Oil prices had been higher earlier in the day after the US and Israel warned at the weekend that the war against Iran, which has disrupted oil deliveries through the Strait of Hormuz, would continue for several more weeks.
Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war on Monday:

Oil tumbles on peace hopes

Oil prices tumbled more than 10 percent after US President Donald Trump said the United States and Iran were holding "very good and productive" talks and that he would postpone threatened strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure as a result.
Oil prices had been higher earlier in the day after the US and Israel warned at the weekend that the war against Iran, which has disrupted oil deliveries through the Strait of Hormuz, would continue for several more weeks.
Stock markets rose following the announcement of the talks.

Oil disruption 'temporary'

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said oil market disruptions are "temporary", as costs surge on the back of the war.

IEA chief issues warnings

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol warned the global economy is under "major threat" from the energy crisis caused by the Middle East war, adding that "no country will be immune".
At least 40 energy assets across nine Middle East countries were "severely" damaged due to the war, Birol added.

China limits fuel prices

China has limited the amount by which the country's retail fuel costs can rise, the government announced, as oil prices have surged due to the Middle East war.
China's state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said it hiked the maximum retail prices for gasoline and diesel by 1,160 yuan ($168) and 1,115 yuan per metric ton respectively, starting from midnight.

Sweden to cut fuel taxes

Sweden's government said it was proposing to temporarily lower taxes on petrol and diesel to soften the blow of surging energy prices.
If passed by parliament, the proposed tax cut would go into force on May 1 and last until the end of September, and as a first step be lowered to the EU's minimum level.
"All parties need to recognise that what is happening in the Middle East and the rest of the world is putting Sweden's economy to the test," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a news conference.

Indonesia eyes cutting fuel use

Indonesia is eyeing up measures to cushion Southeast Asia's largest economy from the fallout of the war in the Middle East, including steps to conserve fuel such as one day of remote working per week for government and certain public sector workers.

Greece announces relief measures

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that the government had earmarked 300 million euros ($347 million) in relief for households and farmers in April and May to help them cope with rising fuel prices.
The subsidies are targeted at reducing the cost of diesel fuel, petrol and fertiliser. Part of the initiative is aimed at holding back price hikes in ferry fares to the country's many islands, Mitsotakis said.

Croatia extends fuel price caps

Croatia renewed fuel price caps in place since March 9 to curb rises at the pump, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said.
Diesel will be capped at 1.73 euros ($2.01) per litre, instead of a projected 1.86 euros ($2.16), while petrol will be 1.62 euros ($1.88) per litre rather than rising to 1.71 euros ($1.98).
The capped retail prices will apply for two weeks, but won't apply to filling stations along the international highway.

France urges refinery boost

The French government urged refiners to quickly increase production on a temporary basis to help reduce tension in the markets for fuels in Europe. 

Australia, Singapore to cooperate on energy

Australia and Singapore agreed to cooperate in ensuring smooth supply chains of oil, liquefied natural gas and diesel.  
"We are committed to working together to strengthen energy supply chain resilience," they said in a joint statement.
burs-rl/rmb

defense

Colombia military aircraft crashes with 125 aboard, many feared dead

  • A Bolivian military cargo plane carrying banknotes crashed while landing near La Paz on February 27, leaving at least 24 people dead.
  • A Colombian military plane carrying 125 troops and crew crashed on take off Monday, with as many as 80 people aboard feared dead.
  • A Bolivian military cargo plane carrying banknotes crashed while landing near La Paz on February 27, leaving at least 24 people dead.
A Colombian military plane carrying 125 troops and crew crashed on take off Monday, with as many as 80 people aboard feared dead.
The Hercules aircraft went down shortly after departure from Puerto Leguizamo, near the southern border with Ecuador, strewing burning wreckage on the jungle floor. 
The troubled border area has been the scene of heavy military activity in recent weeks, as the Colombian and Ecuadoran militaries try to tackle drug-running cartels and militias. 
The toll remained unclear.
Officials said that as many as 48 survivors had been found. A military source told AFP that 80 people may have been killed, although there was no official toll.
Images from the scene showed civilians clambering around the broken tail of the aircraft, marked FAC 1016, as smoke and flames billowed above the trees.
Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed "deep sorrow" over the disaster.
"Military units are already at the scene," Sanchez posted on social media, adding that "the number of victims and the causes of the crash have not yet been confirmed."
"It is a deeply painful event for the country. May our prayers bring some measure of comfort," said Sanchez.
General Carlos Fernando Silva Rueda said that 114 troops were aboard and 11 crew.
They had been travelling between Puerto Leguizamo and another Amazon outpost nearby. 
The crash is the second by a C-130 Hercules aircraft in South America in under a month.
A Bolivian military cargo plane carrying banknotes crashed while landing near La Paz on February 27, leaving at least 24 people dead.
The Hercules is a four-engine turboprop plane built by Lockheed Martin.
Renowned for its ability to operate from makeshift airstrips, it is widely used by militaries around the world and can carry everything from troops to vehicles.
bur-arb/sms

conflict

World gave Israel 'licence to torture Palestinians': UN expert

  • "Torture extends far beyond prison walls, in what can only be described as a torturous environment imposed by Israel across the entire occupied Palestinian territory," she told the Human Rights Council.
  • The world has given Israel "a licence to torture Palestinians", a UN expert said Monday, with life in the occupied territories "a continuum of physical and mental suffering".
  • "Torture extends far beyond prison walls, in what can only be described as a torturous environment imposed by Israel across the entire occupied Palestinian territory," she told the Human Rights Council.
The world has given Israel "a licence to torture Palestinians", a UN expert said Monday, with life in the occupied territories "a continuum of physical and mental suffering".
Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, alleged that "torture has effectively become state policy" in Israel.
"Israel has effectively been given a licence to torture Palestinians, because most of your governments, your ministers, have allowed it," she said, as she presented her latest report to the UN Human Rights Council.
Albanese has faced harsh criticism, allegations of anti-Semitism and demands for her removal, from Israel and some of its allies, over her relentless criticism and long-standing accusations of "genocide".
"Francesca Albanese is not a promoter of human rights; she is an agent of chaos... and any document she produces is nothing but a politically-charged, activist rant," Israel's mission in Geneva said in a statement Monday.
Albanese "advocates dangerous extremist narratives to undermine the very existence of the State of Israel", it said.
Albanese's report claimed Israel was systematically torturing Palestinians on a scale "that suggests collective vengeance and destructive intent".
"Torture extends far beyond prison walls, in what can only be described as a torturous environment imposed by Israel across the entire occupied Palestinian territory," she told the Human Rights Council.
She said torture destroys the conditions that make life meaningful, stripping away human dignity, leaving empty shells behind.
"The testimonies that I and many others are documenting are not only tragic stories of suffering; they are evidence of atrocity crimes targeting the totality of the Palestinian people, across the totality of the occupied land, through a totality of criminal conduct," she said.

'Stop impunity'

Albanese warned that the international response would be a test of countries' collective legal and moral responsibility.
"Disregard for international law will not stop in Palestine. It is already unfolding from Lebanon to Iran, across the Gulf countries, and in Venezuela. And if left unchecked, it will spread far beyond," she said.
Though appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, special rapporteurs are independent experts and do not speak on behalf of the United Nations itself.
Palestinian ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi told the council that the practices documented in Albanese's report "are not just individual cases of torture but amount to collective and systematic torture.
"We renew our call to the international community to take urgent action to guarantee accountability, to stop impunity," he said.
Pakistan, speaking for the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, added: "Impunity has been entrenched and safeguards eroded.
"These crimes are being committed with the intent to inflict individual and collective suffering on the people under occupation in order to erase them from their own native land."
Venezuela asked: "Where is the international community? It is painful and despicable to see nations remain silent and even worse, finance this massacre."
South Africa's representative said: "Inaction in the face of Israel's depravity is not neutrality: it is complicity."
rjm/nl/giv

US

UK sending air defence systems to Gulf: PM

  • "We're deploying short range air defence systems to Bahrain at speed," Starmer told a parliamentary committee, adding the UK was "doing the same with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia". 
  • Britain is sending short-range air defence systems to the Gulf to help counter Iranian missile attacks, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday.
  • "We're deploying short range air defence systems to Bahrain at speed," Starmer told a parliamentary committee, adding the UK was "doing the same with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia". 
Britain is sending short-range air defence systems to the Gulf to help counter Iranian missile attacks, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday.
"We're deploying short range air defence systems to Bahrain at speed," Starmer told a parliamentary committee, adding the UK was "doing the same with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia". 
The UK is working with industry to "distribute air defence missiles to Gulf partners", which have faced waves of Iranian barrages in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes, and has embedded airspace specialists there, Starmer said.
Defence minister John Healey told parliament the country would be deploying its Rapid Sentry anti-drone system to Kuwait.
He called this a "battle-tested ground-based air defence missile system that has already proved highly effective for UK forces taking down drones in the region".
A British warship, HMS Dragon, has also arrived in the eastern Mediterranean to defend Cyprus, Healey said.
Britain deployed the vessel following criticism over a perceived slow response to a drone attack on Britain's Akrotiri base in southern Cyprus after the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28.
The UK now has more military jets in the region "than at any time in the last 15 years" and has boosted air defence personnel in Cyprus by 500, Healey said.
He added that UK pilots had now spent nearly 900 hours flying in the region "in defence of Cyprus, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates" as Iran has unleashed volleys of drones at countries in the region. 

'Keeping UK safe'

The UK government is allowing Washington to use its bases in Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands and Fairford in southwest England to fly US bombing missions targeting Iranian "missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz".
Britain is determined to play a "leading role in securing the strait so commercial ships can move freely and confidently again", its defence minister said, referring to the strategic chokepoint through which much of the world's crude oil and natural gas passes.
Iran on Friday launched two missiles towards the Diego Garcia base, Healey said, but neither reached their target and "normal operations continue".
"I totally condemn Iran's reckless attacks. Iran must stop, it must de-escalate. We want to see this war end now," the minister said.
But he offered assurances, saying: "There is no assessment that we are being targeted in the UK". 
"We have the resources, we have the alliances in place in order to keep the United Kingdom safe from any kind of attacks."
am/jkb/sbk

environment

Trump administration seeks to ease oil fears but industry wary

BY NINA ISENI WITH BEIYI SEOW AND ASAD HASHIM IN WASHINGTON

  • His comments came as energy industry leaders converge in Texas this week under the cloud of oil and gas supply disruptions from the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran in late February.
  • A top US official in President Donald Trump's government sought to reassure fears about the oil market Monday as war raged on in the Middle East, although industry leaders remain wary.
  • His comments came as energy industry leaders converge in Texas this week under the cloud of oil and gas supply disruptions from the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran in late February.
A top US official in President Donald Trump's government sought to reassure fears about the oil market Monday as war raged on in the Middle East, although industry leaders remain wary.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the annual CERAWeek conference in Houston that disruption to global energy flows is "temporary," as costs surged after US-Israeli strikes on Iran prompted Tehran's retaliation that virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz.
Wright said Washington has adopted "pragmatic solutions" such as by helping oil flow to Asian refineries. The United States also started releasing oil from its strategic reserves on Friday.
"But these are mitigants of a situation that's temporary," he stressed to a packed ballroom.
His comments came as energy industry leaders converge in Texas this week under the cloud of oil and gas supply disruptions from the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran in late February.
More than 10,000 attendees are expected for CERAWeek, the spring gathering that has taken on unexpected importance as fuel prices rocket after the war began.
Lines formed to enter a venue where CEOs spoke as industry experts keep up with the conflict.
Wright said the United States would be able to release up to 1.5 million barrels of oil a day, and this could get close to three million barrels.
Attacks on critical energy facilities in Iran, Qatar and other Gulf countries have exacerbated global supply problems.
Oil prices tumbled Monday as Trump suddenly ordered a halt on strikes targeting Iranian infrastructure following "very good" talks. But Tehran denied that negotiations were underway.
Wright told CNBC on Monday that even though the world is undergoing a "short-term period of disruption" now, "the long-term benefits will be enormous."

'Economic terrorism'

Separately, the chief of UAE state energy company ADNOC slammed Tehran's actions to effectively block the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global energy supplies.
"Weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against one nation," Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said in virtual remarks to the conference.
"It's economic terrorism against every nation. And no country should be allowed to hold Hormuz hostage," he added.
TotalEnergies chief Patrick Pouyanne expects "very high" liquefied natural gas prices by the summer if the strait is not reopened.
"I can predict a very high price for LNG by summer and September, when we are refilling the gas storage in Europe," the French executive added.
US energy giant Chevron's chief executive Mike Wirth warned that oil prices have yet to fully factor in fallout from the blockade.
"In particular, Asia is facing some real concerns about supply," he said, citing government measures to conserve stocks.
Even after the war ends, it will take time to rebuild inventories, he added.

Wind power projects

While Wright proclaimed Monday that "America's superpower is natural gas," the world's biggest economy also signed an agreement with TotalEnergies to end the French company's offshore US wind farm projects.
The funds would be redirected towards fossil fuel production, with US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum saying the deal was worth "nearly $1 billion."
"We're partnering with TotalEnergies to unleash nearly $1 billion that was tied up in a lease deposit that was directed towards the prior administration's subsidies that were pushing expensive weather-dependent offshore wind," said Burgum.
The conference gathers experts from industry, finance, government and academia to discuss energy and other topics including trade and artificial intelligence.
Besides the war, much of the attention this year again centers on the profound reorientation of US energy and environmental policy under Trump.
Since returning to the White House in 2025, Trump has embraced fossil fuels while tearing up most of his predecessor Joe Biden's policies aimed at mitigating climate change.
This year's conference also features a plenary event with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, who is due to speak Tuesday night.
bur-mav-bys/ksb

airports

US deploys immigration agents to airports amid shutdown chaos

  • With no breakthrough in sight and Congress nearing a recess, officials warn the disruption could deepen -- leaving airports, and the wider system, under growing strain. ft/msp
  • The US immigration agency at the center of a firestorm over heavy-handed enforcement tactics began deploying to major airports on Monday, as officials scrambled to ease mounting travel disruption during a prolonged, partial government shutdown.
  • With no breakthrough in sight and Congress nearing a recess, officials warn the disruption could deepen -- leaving airports, and the wider system, under growing strain. ft/msp
The US immigration agency at the center of a firestorm over heavy-handed enforcement tactics began deploying to major airports on Monday, as officials scrambled to ease mounting travel disruption during a prolonged, partial government shutdown.
The move places Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel -- already under intense scrutiny after fatal shootings linked to immigration operations -- in highly visible roles at crowded transport hubs across the country.
Officials say the agents are being sent to at least 14 airports, including hubs in New York, Chicago and Atlanta, to assist overstretched Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff, many of whom have gone weeks without full pay.
The agents will not conduct passenger screening but are expected to handle support roles such as monitoring exits and managing logistics, allowing TSA officers to focus on security checks.
The deployment comes as airports struggle with long delays during a busy travel period for the annual spring break, with some passengers reporting waits of several hours.
Unscheduled absences among TSA staff have surged to their highest levels since the beginning of the shutdown, which has halted the operations of the Department of Homeland Security - which oversees TSA - raising concerns about safety and system strain.
Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's point man on border security, told CNN the move was a temporary measure to "help TSA move those lines along," while Trump framed it as part of a broader effort to maintain security during the funding standoff.
But the decision has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats, rights activists and some Republicans, who warn it risks escalating tensions in already stressed environments.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN deploying ICE in crowded airports could create new risks, while Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski told reporters it was "not ICE's mission" and warned of "additional tension" at airports.
The controversy reflects broader unease over the administration's immigration crackdown, which has sparked protests and legal challenges in several states.
In Minnesota earlier this year, two US citizens -- Renee Good and Alex Pretti -- were killed in separate encounters with federal immigration officers, incidents that fueled nationwide outrage and scrutiny of enforcement tactics.
Good, a mother of three, was shot by an ICE agent during an operation, while Pretti, an intensive care nurse, was later killed by officers from Customs and Border Protection during a related deployment.
Against that backdrop, the airport deployment has taken on outsized significance, highlighting the increasingly blurred lines between immigration enforcement and domestic security roles.
Meanwhile, negotiations in Washington remain deadlocked.
Democrats have pushed to reopen most of the Department of Homeland Security while demanding new limits on immigration enforcement, while Republicans have resisted those conditions.
Trump has further complicated talks by insisting he will not sign any funding deal unless Congress also passes the SAVE America Act, a contentious bill to overhaul how citizens register to vote in US elections.
With no breakthrough in sight and Congress nearing a recess, officials warn the disruption could deepen -- leaving airports, and the wider system, under growing strain.
ft/msp

US

Iran's true casualty figures unknown as internet blackout hampers monitors

BY ADAM PLOWRIGHT

  • - Connection problems - Distrust of Iran's official figures is high among human rights groups, particularly after the bloody crackdown on anti-government protests in January.
  • Iran has not updated its official death toll figures for weeks, while human rights groups outside the country are struggling with chronic communication problems, meaning the number of people killed during the war remains largely unknown.
  • - Connection problems - Distrust of Iran's official figures is high among human rights groups, particularly after the bloody crackdown on anti-government protests in January.
Iran has not updated its official death toll figures for weeks, while human rights groups outside the country are struggling with chronic communication problems, meaning the number of people killed during the war remains largely unknown.
The last time Iran's health ministry gave a full update about casualties was on March 8, the ninth day of the conflict, when it said around 1,200 civilians had been killed in US and Israeli airstrikes across the country. 
Overseas human rights groups have long been considered one of the most reliable sources of information about life inside the heavily censored Islamic republic.
But with Iran's connections to the global internet cut off and phone lines down, they are struggling to reach their networks of contacts who are their eyes and ears on the ground.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which played an important role corroborating deaths during anti-government protests in January, estimates the civilian death toll at 1,407 people, including 214 children.
"I would say it's an absolute, absolute minimum, and that's simply because we don't have the capacity to be everywhere at one time, understanding the full extent of what's happening," HRANA deputy director Skylar Thompson told AFP.
"With the scale and the speed at which places are being targeted across the country, it's impossible to document it at the same pace," she added.
The Iranian Red Crescent is not providing casualty estimates, but its latest figures indicate 61,555 homes, 19,000 businesses, 275 medical centres, and nearly 500 schools have been damaged.
AFP journalists have been able to confirm that many civilian buildings in Tehran have been damaged, including apartment blocks caught in the blast wave of nearby missile or bomb strikes, but not beyond the city. 
Reporters are unable to travel around the country without official authorisation.  

Connection problems

Distrust of Iran's official figures is high among human rights groups, particularly after the bloody crackdown on anti-government protests in January.
Although Iran acknowledged around 3,000 deaths, mostly among security forces, researchers and campaigners outside Iran estimated that anywhere from 7,000 to 35,000 people were killed in the indiscriminate shooting.
"The Islamic republic has a history of not publishing or not collecting data," Awyar Shekhi from the Norway-based human rights group Hengaw told AFP.
The problem for Hengaw and others seeking to provide a credible alternative to the incomplete official data has been the almost-total shutdown of Iran's internet connections to the outside world since the start of the war on February 28.
"The connection is worse than it ever was before, so it's really difficult to get accurate data of how many people have been killed, and the information we get is so little," Shekhi added.
Both she and Thompson stressed that Iranian authorities have been threatening and arresting people who have illegally accessed the global internet to send information abroad, sometimes accusing them of spying.
Making telephone calls to Iran from abroad is also largely impossible.

'Focus on the civilian harm'

The biggest loss of life for civilians in the war so far was the airstrike on an elementary school in Minab on the first day of the war that killed at least 165 people, according to an official toll.
A US Tomahawk cruise missile hit the school because of a targeting mistake, according to the preliminary findings of a US military investigation reported by The New York Times.
Hengaw also documented an airstrike on a flour factory in the city of western Naqadeh on March 7 that killed 11 workers and injured another 21.
"I believe that the US and Israel are using a quite aggressive interpretation of what is a military target," Thompson from HRANA added.
Unlike in January, during the anti-government protests, she said there had so far been relatively little attention in the Western media on the toll of ordinary Iranians.
"There's such a focus on the geopolitics of it all, I think it's really important to have a focus on the civilian harm," she added.
Elsewhere in the region, Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli strikes had killed 1,029 people in the country.
A total of 16 civilians have been killed by Iranian attacks in Israel and 17 civilians have been killed in Gulf countries, according to authorities and emergency services there.
adp/sjw/dcp

US

Trump's ever-shifting positions on the war with Iran

  • (Response to Fox Radio on when the war will be over) March 21: "If Iran doesn't FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS." (Truth Social) March 23: "I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS." (Truth Social) msp/sms
  • How long will the Iran war last and what are the US goals?
  • (Response to Fox Radio on when the war will be over) March 21: "If Iran doesn't FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS." (Truth Social) March 23: "I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS." (Truth Social) msp/sms
How long will the Iran war last and what are the US goals? President Donald Trump has issued a dizzying number of conflicting answers to these questions since launching the conflict three weeks ago.
The stakes have risen as Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes across the Gulf after the United States and Israel started their attacks on February 28.
Here, in Trump's own words, are his shifting positions:

Duration of the war

March 1: "Well, we intended four to five weeks." (To the New York Times)
March 9: "I think the war is very complete, pretty much.” (To CBS)
March 20: "We are getting very close to meeting our objectives." (Truth Social).
March 20: "I think we have won.... I don't want to do a ceasefire." (To reporters at the White House)
March 23: "If talks fail..., we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out." (To reporters in Florida)

Negotiate or not?

March 1: "They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them." (To The Atlantic)
March 3: "They want to talk. I said 'Too Late!'" (Truth Social)
March 21: "There's nobody to talk to. We have nobody to talk to. And you know what -- we like it that way." (To reporters at the White House)
March 23: "I AM PLEASED TO REPORT THAT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE COUNTRY OF IRAN, HAVE HAD, OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS, VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS." (Truth Social)

Hormuz: need allies or not?

March 14: "Many countries...will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe." (Truth Social) 
March 16: "We strongly encourage the other nations to get involved with us and get involved quickly and with great enthusiasm." (To reporters at the White House)
March 17: "WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!" (Truth Social)

What does winning mean?

Feb. 28: Trump announces war in a video message. Says goals are to eliminate Iran's ballistic missile capability, destroy their navy, ensure it never gets a nuclear weapon, and ensure Iranian proxy groups can no longer carry out attacks. 
He also encourages a popular uprising: "Take over your government." (Video message, speaking to Iranians)
March 9: "We've already won in many ways." (Speaking to Congressional Republicans)
March 13: "When I feel it in my bones." (Response to Fox Radio on when the war will be over)
March 21: "If Iran doesn't FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS." (Truth Social)
March 23: "I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS." (Truth Social)
msp/sms

Israël

Countries act to limit fuel price rise, cut consumption

  • Here are some of the measures that have been adopted: - Tax cuts and aid - Some countries are targeting the price of fuel in order to limit the impact of the rise of crude oil prices on consumers and businesses.
  • The surge in fuel prices triggered by the war in the Middle East has prompted countries to take measures to limit the financial impact on consumers and businesses.
  • Here are some of the measures that have been adopted: - Tax cuts and aid - Some countries are targeting the price of fuel in order to limit the impact of the rise of crude oil prices on consumers and businesses.
The surge in fuel prices triggered by the war in the Middle East has prompted countries to take measures to limit the financial impact on consumers and businesses.
Countries have also moved to reduce consumption, especially when they have limited reserves.
Here are some of the measures that have been adopted:

Tax cuts and aid

Some countries are targeting the price of fuel in order to limit the impact of the rise of crude oil prices on consumers and businesses.
Spain has launched a five-billion-euro ($5.8-billion) plan that reduces the value added tax (VAT) on fuel which should result in a reduction of 30 euro cents per litre.
A similar measure is in place in Portugal and has been announced in Sweden.
Since US-Israeli attacks on Iran set off the war on February 28 a number of countries such as Croatia, Hungary, South Korea and Thailand have set price limits on fuel.
Vietnam has waived customs duties on fuel imports through the month of April.
Japan is using subsidies to refiners to ensure the pump price of petrol stays around 170 yen ($1.07) per litre, having hit a record 190.8 yen in the middle of the month.
Taiwan uses a mechanism that absorbs 60 percent of increases.
China on Monday limited the amount that fuel prices may rise at the pump.
Greece has earmarked 300 million euros ($347 million) in relief for households and farmers in April and May to help them cope with rising fuel prices.
Morocco has put in place a special direct subsidy for road transport firms.
Brazil has announced temporary measures to limit fuel price increases, including suspending taxes on diesel fuel.
Germany has banned service stations from raising prices more than once per day.

Stocks, rationing, restrictions

The war is also forcing countries to dip into their strategic stocks and take other measures to avoid shortages, including rationing and reducing travel.
The 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency (which includes the G7 nations) have released a record amount from their strategic reserves.
Bangladesh has imposed rationing.
Egypt has limited non-essential travel by government employees. 
The Philippines has reduced ferry services and prices of local public transport have risen.
India, the world's number two importer of liquefied petroleum gas which is used to produce cooking gas, has prioritised supplies for households.
South Korea's ruling party said the country will lift a cap on coal-powered generation capacity set at 80 percent and boost the use of nuclear power to about the same level.

Reducing energy consumption

Other countries are introducing measures to reduce fuel consumption.
Thailand is encouraging government employees to work from home, while Vietnam is encouraging employers to do so.
Indonesia is looking at imposing one day of working from home for government employees, while the Philippines has gone further, introducing a four-day work week for government employees. 
In Thailand, the temperature in public buildings has been raised to 26 degrees Celsius (79F) to reduce electricity consumption for air conditioning.
Vietnam is encouraging people to ride bicycles, share rides and use public transport.
Bangladesh shut universities and brought forward the Eid holidays, the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, to limit electricity consumption. 
It also cancelled decorative light displays on government buildings on Eid and those scheduled for Independence Day celebrations on March 26 and asked shopping malls to do the same.
Countries are also looking at importing Russian crude after the United States temporarily suspended sanctions in mid-March.
ole/uh/rl/kjm

LaGuardia

'Stop, truck one, stop!': transcript of NY plane collision

  • The plane, operated by Jazz Aviation, a regional partner of Air Canada, struck the firetruck on Runway 4 at around 11:40 pm as the truck drove to a separate incident.
  • Moments before an Air Canada Express plane collided with a firetruck on the runway of New York's LaGuardia Airport, a traffic controller cleared the truck to cross the runway and then urgently ordered it to halt, a recording showed.
  • The plane, operated by Jazz Aviation, a regional partner of Air Canada, struck the firetruck on Runway 4 at around 11:40 pm as the truck drove to a separate incident.
Moments before an Air Canada Express plane collided with a firetruck on the runway of New York's LaGuardia Airport, a traffic controller cleared the truck to cross the runway and then urgently ordered it to halt, a recording showed.
The collision Sunday night killed the pilot and co-pilot, and 41 people on board were taken to the hospital, officials said.
The plane, operated by Jazz Aviation, a regional partner of Air Canada, struck the firetruck on Runway 4 at around 11:40 pm as the truck drove to a separate incident.
Below is a transcript of the exchange:
Driver: "Truck one and company, LaGuardia Tower. Requesting to cross four at Delta."
Controller: "Truck one and company, cross four at Delta."
Driver: "Truck one and company crossing four at Delta."
Controller: "Frontier 4195, stop there please. (Pause.) Stop, stop, stop, truck one, stop, stop, stop. Stop, truck one, stop! Stop, truck one, stop." 
(Alarm goes off.)
"Jazz 646. Jazz 646, I see you collided with vehicle. (Inaudible) Hold position. I know he can't move. Vehicles are responding to you now."
After further dialogue.
Second controller: "Man, that wasn't good to watch."
First controller: "Yeah, I know. I was here. I tried to reach out to my staff. And we were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up."
Second controller: "No man, you did the best you could."
mjf/bgs

US

Trump sees 'regime change' in surprise Iran talks

BY SAUL LOEB WITH DANNY KEMP AND SEBASTIAN SMITH IN WASHINGTON

  • Asked why he wouldn't identify the people talking to the United States, Trump said "because I don't want them to be killed."
  • President Donald Trump said Monday that "regime change" was underway in Iran as the United States holds peace talks with an unidentified alternative leader.
  • Asked why he wouldn't identify the people talking to the United States, Trump said "because I don't want them to be killed."
President Donald Trump said Monday that "regime change" was underway in Iran as the United States holds peace talks with an unidentified alternative leader.
Trump's surprise announcement to reporters in Florida was short on detail about whom the US side had contacted, but he said it was "not the supreme leader," Mojtaba Khamenei.
He described the unidentified negotiator as "a top person" and "the most respected and the leader."
"We're going to get together today, by probably phone, because it's very hard to find a country -- it's very hard for them to get out, I guess," Trump told reporters before boarding his plane.
Trump was speaking shortly after he backed down from a threat to bombard Iran's power stations within the next day -- an escalation Iran vowed would be met by reprisals at sensitive regional targets, further roiling the US and world economies.
Trump announced on his Truth Social site that he was allowing five days for talks.
But if talks don't produce results, he told reporters later, "we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out."

Venezuela comparison

Trump said there were already "major points of agreement" with the Iranian negotiators.
US conditions, he said, include Iran abandoning any nuclear ambitions and giving up its enriched uranium stockpiles.
"We want no enrichment, but we also want the enriched uranium," he said.
Trump said the unidentified Iranian officials reached out under pressure of his threat to attack power stations.
"They called, I didn't call," he said. "They want to make a deal, and we are very willing to make a deal."
Iran has lost a swath of leadership to US and Israeli bombing.
Mojtaba Khamenei is the son of the previous supreme leader, but he has not been seen in public since the war began and US officials say he may be badly injured.
Trump suggested that he was looking for an arrangement similar to Venezuela, where US forces toppled long-time strongman Nicolas Maduro in January. The country is now run by a US-backed figure.
"Look at Venezuela, how well that's working out," Trump said. "Maybe we find somebody like that in Iran."

'Going very well'

Earlier, Trump told AFP in a brief phone interview that "things are going very well."
Trump has repeatedly said he does not know whom to negotiate with because so many leaders have been killed.
On Monday, he dismissed Khamenei, saying "I don't consider him really the leader."
"But we think we have people that are very representative of the country and will do a good job," he said. 
Asked why he wouldn't identify the people talking to the United States, Trump said "because I don't want them to be killed."
Iranian media however said on Monday that there were no negotiations underway towards ending the war.
"There are no talks between Tehran and Washington," said Mehr news agency citing Iran's foreign ministry, adding that Trump's statements were part of a push "to reduce energy prices". 
Trump's backtrack on attacking Iranian energy sites came just hours before Wall Street was set to open after brutal selloffs on European and Asian markets and a further climb in the price of oil.
The oil price has posed an increasing political headache for Trump as Americans complain of higher prices at the pump, ahead of crucial midterm elections in November that will determine the make-up of Congress.
bur-sms/des

drugs

New Trump envoy visits Honduras for organized crime-fighting partnership

  • Trump announced earlier this month that she would be removed and take up the role of special envoy to the "Shield of the Americas," a coalition with 17 Latin American nations -- so far -- aimed at countering cartels.
  • Kristi Noem visited Honduras in her new role as US President Donald Trump's special envoy for his "Shield of the Americas" regional crime-fighting initiative, after being fired from her position as homeland security chief.
  • Trump announced earlier this month that she would be removed and take up the role of special envoy to the "Shield of the Americas," a coalition with 17 Latin American nations -- so far -- aimed at countering cartels.
Kristi Noem visited Honduras in her new role as US President Donald Trump's special envoy for his "Shield of the Americas" regional crime-fighting initiative, after being fired from her position as homeland security chief.
The 54-year-old made the trip on Sunday and met with Honduras's new right-wing president, Nasry Asfura, he told press afterward.
A former congresswoman and governor of South Dakota, Noem was one of the leading faces of Trump's controversial immigration crackdown since his return to power in January 2025.
Trump announced earlier this month that she would be removed and take up the role of special envoy to the "Shield of the Americas," a coalition with 17 Latin American nations -- so far -- aimed at countering cartels.
According to multiple media reports, Trump was upset with Noem's handling of the mass immigration crackdown in Minnesota, during which federal immigration agents shot dead two Americans.
"It was a meeting...with a very positive reception," Asfura said after the talks at the presidential palace in Tegucigalpa.
Honduras is one of the most violent countries in Central America, with gangs including Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18 -- designated as terrorist organizations by Washington -- in operation.
Issues including security and migration were discussed to "work together and build a more prosperous America," Asfura said. 
Both parties agreed on "strengthening cybersecurity and waging a full-scale fight against drug trafficking and organized crime," as well as bolstering the Honduran police and military "through specialized technical assistance," a Honduran government statement said.
Trump backed Nasfura in his election late last year and threatened US funding if he did not win, raising accusations of foreign meddling.
Nasfura's rise to power comes amid a series of right-wing wins in Latin America on promises of taking a firm approach to crime.
lkd/des/sms

mayors

Far-right French president no certainty despite rise of extremes

BY ANNA SMOLCHENKO

  • The party had weak local roots, "a malfunctioning party machine" and was mired in legal troubles, she told AFP. Bardella is expected to run next year instead of Le Pen, 57, if an appeals court bans her from office in a graft case.
  • France's local elections show the appeal of political extremes is growing in France, but Marine Le Pen's far-right party is not necessarily poised to win the presidency next year when Emmanuel Macron must step down, analysts said Monday.
  • The party had weak local roots, "a malfunctioning party machine" and was mired in legal troubles, she told AFP. Bardella is expected to run next year instead of Le Pen, 57, if an appeals court bans her from office in a graft case.
France's local elections show the appeal of political extremes is growing in France, but Marine Le Pen's far-right party is not necessarily poised to win the presidency next year when Emmanuel Macron must step down, analysts said Monday.
Leftists held onto France's biggest cities in Sunday's polls, including Paris and Marseille, boosting hopes that the next leader of the European Union's second biggest economy, and sole nuclear power, will come from a mainstream party.
The right notched wins in several other big cities, while the far right and hard left established a stronger local footprint.
But limited gains of the far-right National Rally party and divisions on the left suggest the 2027 race is open, despite opinion polls favouring Le Pen and her allies, experts said.
"French town hall elections yielded no big breakthrough for the far right and no clear trend nationwide," Mujtaba Rahman, Europe director at risk analysis firm Eurasia Group, told AFP.
He said the election results suggested that next year's presidential election was "more open" than pollsters have suggested.
The RN secured wins in small and mid-sized towns, but failed to take any major urban centre. 
"It's a catastrophe (for them) in large cities," said Nonna Mayer, a political scientist at Sciences Po university and research centre CNRS.
RN party leader Bardella, 30, failed to secure support from the traditional right in run-off votes.
After a far-right ally won Nice, he claimed France's fifth largest city as a win for his own party.
"There is a real glass ceiling in large cities," added Blanche Leridon, director of French studies at the Paris-based Institut Montaigne.

'Dilemma for the left'

The hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) of firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon also scored some wins, taking the economically depressed town of Roubaix on the Belgian border and the working-class Paris suburb of Saint Denis.
The mainstream left has sought to distance themselves from LFI, over claims of antisemitism and the fatal beating of a far-right activist last month blamed on the hard left.
While a number of left-wing candidates allied with the hard left to strengthen their chances in the runoffs, the tactic did not pay off.
In Toulouse, Europe's aerospace hub and France's fourth-largest city, it resulted instead in a win for the right.
Analysts said that the question of strategy for both the left and right remained unresolved in the run-up to the 2027 presidential polls.
"The right is divided on what needs to be done," said Mayer.
On the left, said Leridon, the rift between those who champion a broad united front and those who advocate for a left without France Unbowed was only going to widen.
"While the Socialist Party can afford to bypass LFI at the municipal level, it will be a completely different story on a national scale," she said.
Analysts say Melenchon, 74, hopes to capitalise on his party's performance to launch a strong new run for the presidency.
Eric Maurice, an analyst at the Brussels-based European Policy Centre, said the left needs to craft a viable strategy for next year's vote that includes LFI voters.
The challenge, he said, is finding an arrangement that attracts LFI supporters without letting the hard left dominate such an alliance. 
"That's the main dilemma for the left, because Melenchon won't back down," he told AFP.
"The left cannot go divided into the first round if they want to be in the second round next year," he added. 
"But who can be the candidate? If it's Melenchon, they will probably lose," he said, adding too many people find him unpalatable.

'Nothing is inevitable'

Former centrist prime minister Edouard Philippe, 55, kept his seat as mayor of the northern city of Le Havre, boosting his presidential run. 
"On the right, Philippe could emerge as the potential single candidate," said Maurice, adding Macron's former prime minister could reach a second-round run-off and ultimately win.
But analysts said it was too early to make any predictions.
"I certainly don't want to downplay the risk of a National Rally victory -- that risk is very real -- but nothing is inevitable, and nothing is decided at this point," said Leridon.
Mayer said the RN benefits from the divisions of its opponents on the right and left but still showed "many weaknesses".
The party had weak local roots, "a malfunctioning party machine" and was mired in legal troubles, she told AFP.
Bardella is expected to run next year instead of Le Pen, 57, if an appeals court bans her from office in a graft case.
"They have not yet won, even if they never have been so close to the Elysee," said Mayer.
as/ah/fg

conflict

Ukraine hits major Russian oil port near Finland

  • Ukraine's air force said on Monday that Moscow fired 251 drones at Ukraine overnight, 234 of which were shot down. bur/sbk
  • Ukraine fired drones at a key Russian oil port near the Finnish border on Monday, both Moscow and Kyiv said, triggering a huge fire at the facility.
  • Ukraine's air force said on Monday that Moscow fired 251 drones at Ukraine overnight, 234 of which were shot down. bur/sbk
Ukraine fired drones at a key Russian oil port near the Finnish border on Monday, both Moscow and Kyiv said, triggering a huge fire at the facility.
Satellite images showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke rising into the air from the oil terminal in the Russian town of Primorsk, which sits on the Gulf of Finland and is about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the EU and NATO member.
Russia has been pummelling Ukraine with near-daily air strikes, repeatedly hitting its energy infrastructure and triggering blackouts that plunged millions into cold and darkness during the winter months.
Ukraine has retaliated by launching drone attacks at Russia, mainly at Moscow's energy and military facilities.
"A fuel tank was damaged in the port of Primorsk, causing a fire," said Alexander Drozdenko, governor of Russia's western Leningrad region. 
Drozdenko said Russian air defence systems had destroyed more than 70 drones over the region, which has not been a main front in Russia's war with Ukraine.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said it had "struck key fuel and energy infrastructure facilities in the Russian Federation", including at Primorsk. 
"According to preliminary information, both the tank farm and the oil loading infrastructure were hit," the General Staff said on social media on Monday.
The satellite images appeared to show fires and smoke rising from several cylindrical fuel tanks at the site.
Ukraine said Primorsk handles approximately 60 million tonnes of oil per year.
"The aggressor country uses the proceeds from oil sales to continue the war against Ukraine," it added.
The General Staff also claimed a hit on an oil refinery in the central Russian city of Ufa, around 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) from the front line.
It said the strike caused "a fire on the facility's grounds".
Ukraine's air force said on Monday that Moscow fired 251 drones at Ukraine overnight, 234 of which were shot down.
bur/sbk

trade

EU chief in Australia as trade talks enter 'last mile'

  • And von der Leyen this month said the conflict had served as a "stark reminder" of the continent's vulnerabilities.
  • EU-Australia talks to strike a trade pact were in their "last mile" Monday, Brussels said as European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Sydney raising hopes for a deal.
  • And von der Leyen this month said the conflict had served as a "stark reminder" of the continent's vulnerabilities.
EU-Australia talks to strike a trade pact were in their "last mile" Monday, Brussels said as European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Sydney raising hopes for a deal.
Years in the making, the accord would be the latest inked by Brussels in a push to diversify trade as Europe faces challenges from the United States and China.
"Clearly there is mutual interest, and a positive hunger from both economic communities for having this new framework," EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said. 
Von der Leyen's visit with Sefcovic in tow comes as the 27-nation bloc and import-reliant nation navigate renewed energy vulnerability sparked by the war in the Middle East. 
She arrived in Sydney Monday for a meeting with Australia's head of the state, the Governor-General, before heading to Canberra, where she is expected to meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
"The goal is to tie down the final details," commission spokesman Olof Gill told a press conference in Brussels, cautioning that "the last mile is the hardest".
Improved access to the EU market for Australia's lamb and beef -- a big no-no for some European farmers -- was understood to be among the last sticking points.
Australia's luxury car tax on European vehicles was another. 
Australia's largest export market is China and the United States is its largest source of investment.
But Canberra has redoubled efforts to diversify export markets for farmers since a 2020 dispute with Beijing saw agriculture exports blocked for several years, and then last year's global imposition of US trade tariffs.
Likewise, the European Union is on a drive to strike new partnerships in the face of US levies and Chinese export controls. 
The bloc, which is seeking greater access to Australia's critical raw materials, is the resource-rich country's third largest two-way trading partner and second largest source of foreign investment.
A deal could boost EU exports to Australia by more than 30 percent and save exporters about one billion euro a year ($1.15 billion), Brussels said.
Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell last week said a pact would add Aus$10 billion (US$7.1 billion) in trade for Australia in the first year.
"They are potentially our second largest trading partner if we can pull this off," he told Sky News Australia.
Front and centre in meetings will also likely be the war in the Middle East, which has sent oil prices soaring.
In Canberra, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol said on Monday the world faced an energy crisis not seen in decades if the conflict was not resolved.
And von der Leyen this month said the conflict had served as a "stark reminder" of the continent's vulnerabilities.
Australia -- which is heavily reliant on fuel from abroad -- has also felt the pressure from the global energy squeeze.
While conceding that some petrol stations had run out of fuel, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Monday the country was a "long way" from rationing.
kln-oho-ub/raz/ane

Jospin

France ex-PM Lionel Jospin dies aged 88

BY JEREMY MAROT AND CLARE BYRNE

  • Apart from chopping four hours off the working week, he introduced civil unions -- laying the ground for a gay marriage bill that was adopted over a decade later, despite mass protests.
  • Former French prime minister Lionel Jospin, a Socialist who introduced the 35-hour work week and civil partnerships for gay couples, has died aged 88, his family said on Monday.
  • Apart from chopping four hours off the working week, he introduced civil unions -- laying the ground for a gay marriage bill that was adopted over a decade later, despite mass protests.
Former French prime minister Lionel Jospin, a Socialist who introduced the 35-hour work week and civil partnerships for gay couples, has died aged 88, his family said on Monday.
Jospin -- who was head of government from 1997 to 2002 before being overtaken by the far right in presidential polls -- died on Sunday, they told AFP.
He had said he had a "serious operation" and had returned home to rest in January, without providing details.
To supporters, Jospin was honest and strait-laced. To his critics, he was a colourless technocrat.
He paid a high price for his lack of pizzazz when he ran for president in 2002.
A former economics professor, Jospin cast himself as a clean pair of hands compared to his conservative rival, the corruption-tainted but chummy and charismatic Jacques Chirac.
But far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen beat him to the second round and Socialist voters ultimately rallied around Chirac in the runoff vote.
Jospin's defeat by Le Pen -- the father of current far-right presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen -- prompted him to announce his retirement from politics.

'From a simple background'

While the bespectacled intellectual with a crown of white curls was credited with being an effective prime minister, his lack of rapport with the public always made him an unlikely father of the nation.
Born on July 12, 1937, in the Paris suburb of Meudon to a middle-class Protestant family, Jospin joined the Scouts as a teenager and was a keen basketball player.
"I come from a simple background. I have absolutely no desire to belong to a sort of 'upper class'," he said in later years.
As a politics student, he opposed France's war with independence fighters in Algeria and flirted with Trotskyism.
But like generations of business and political leaders before and after, he studied at the elite National School of Administration (ENA).
Jospin began his career at the foreign ministry and also worked as an academic before joining Francois Mitterrand to try to reform the Socialist Party.
After Mitterrand's landmark election as France's first Socialist president in 1981, his trusted adviser took over the party leadership.
Jospin was elected to parliament twice, representing the working-class 18th district of Paris and later the southwestern Haute-Garonne region.
In 1988, he became education minister in the government of reformist prime minister Michel Rocard, setting up seven new universities within four years.
But as accusations of corruption and dirty tricks against Mitterrand began to mount, his relations with the president became more distant.
Bidding to succeed his former mentor in 1995, Jospin shocked many Socialists by claiming a "right of inventory" over Mitterrand's legacy -- a right to reassess a record that loyalists deemed sacrosanct.
That year, he narrowly lost the presidential election to Chirac.
Two years later, though, Jospin won a revenge of sorts when the cocky Chirac called an early general election, expecting his right-wing RPR party -- forerunner of Nicolas Sarkozy's Republicans -- to win easily.
The Socialists stole the day, ushering in five years of uneasy "cohabitation" between Chirac as president and Jospin at the helm of government.
Jospin, who has two children with his first wife, also remarried that year, to feminist philosopher Sylviane Agacinski.

'Courage'

President Emmanuel Macron praised Jospin on X for his "rigour, his courage and his ideal of progress".
As prime minister, he charted a pragmatic economic course and sought to stamp out corruption, appointing only scandal-free ministers to his team.
He brought down unemployment and revived growth, but it was his social reforms that defined his tenure.
Apart from chopping four hours off the working week, he introduced civil unions -- laying the ground for a gay marriage bill that was adopted over a decade later, despite mass protests.
But Jospin tripped up in his 2002 presidential rematch against Chirac, making a number of gaffes, including a swipe at his opponent's age that was seen as below the belt.
In the end he trailed in third place behind Chirac and Le Pen, in one of the biggest political upsets in post-war France.
"I assume full responsibility for this defeat," an ashen-faced Jospin announced, bowing out of politics to howls of dismay from supporters.
He later blamed his demise on the failure of other left-wing factions to support his bid, splitting the vote.
jmt-cb/ah/jxb/gil 

internet

Russia's Max: The unencrypted super-app being forced on citizens

  • Even so, she has ditched Max in favour of IMO, a less popular US-made app that has encryption.
  • Russia is pushing its Max messenger -- a social media platform without encryption -- onto its citizens with a massive promotion campaign and the simultaneous blocking of Whatsapp and Telegram, the country's two most popular messenger apps.
  • Even so, she has ditched Max in favour of IMO, a less popular US-made app that has encryption.
Russia is pushing its Max messenger -- a social media platform without encryption -- onto its citizens with a massive promotion campaign and the simultaneous blocking of Whatsapp and Telegram, the country's two most popular messenger apps.
The rollout has raised concerns among critics and digital rights groups that Moscow will use Max to surveil its citizens and further cut digital links to the West.
"Any data that passes through this application can be considered to be in the hands of its owner, and in this case, the hands of the Russian state," cybersecurity researcher Baptiste Robert, CEO of the French company Predicta Lab, told AFP.
Launched in 2025 by Russian social media giant VK, the app has been compared to China's WeChat, combining social media and messaging functions with access to government services, a digital ID card system, banking and payments.
It is not officially mandatory, but the authorities are making it clear that life without Max will become increasingly hard.
President Vladimir Putin has touted it as a more "secure" platform that meets Russia's demand for "technological sovereignty."
Moscow has been pushing that agenda for years.
"This is the culmination of policies aimed at creating a sovereign internet," Marielle Wijermars, an associate professor of internet governance at Maastricht University told AFP.
"Russia wants to restructure the internet to better control what is published" including "by migrating all Russians to platforms that are more state-controlled," she added.

'Forced' to download

Max has been pre-installed on phones and tablets sold in Russia since September.
The design is familiar and resembles Telegram, offering private messages, public channels and cute stickers.
Unlike Telegram and Whatsapp, it is also on Russia's "white list" of approved digital services that stay online during the increasingly common forced internet blackouts that Moscow says are necessary to thwart Ukrainian retaliatory drone attacks.
Initially only available to users with a Russian or Belarusian SIM card, the app is now available in English and to those with phone numbers from 40 other countries -- only those Russia deems "friendly," like Cuba, Pakistan and ex-Soviet republics in Central Asia.
It is not available in the European Union -- or Ukraine. 
That has not stopped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowing to infiltrate the messenger.
One of the reasons Russia wants to ditch Telegram is because it has become a platform used by Ukraine to recruit Russians for sabotage attacks, including assassinations.
Inside Russia, opinions are split.
"You can send messages, photos and videos. What more do you need?" said Yekaterina, a 35-year-old dance teacher.
Irina, a 45-year-old doctor, however, complained she has been "forced" to use Max for school activities for her children and to access the government's official online portal, Gosuslugi, where her patients make appointments.
She plans to "buy another SIM card to download Max on another phone."
Large businesses have been accused of forcing employees to download the app and schools have migrated all communication with parents to the platform.
At the same time, celebrities and popular bloggers are moving their content to Max.
Dmitry Zakharchenko, founder of the Russian analytics agency GRFN, has compared the "aggressive" campaign with Soviet propaganda billboards.
The carrot-and-stick approach has driven downloads -- more than 100 million users in March, according to the service.

'Being watched'

The launch of Max comes years into Russia's political and technological campaign to develop a "sovereign internet", less reliant on -- and vulnerable to -- foreign services.
Russian telecoms regulator Roskomnadzor and the security services have enjoyed growing powers to monitor and block sites they deem dangerous.
Unlike Telegram and Whatsapp, Max does not use end-to-end encryption and its terms of use state that user data is stored exclusively on services in Russia.
Varvara, a 35-year-old interpreter said she was not worried about that as she was not a "foreign agent" and had nothing to hide -- referring to a label used by the Kremlin to target critics.
Even so, she has ditched Max in favour of IMO, a less popular US-made app that has encryption.
Scientist Alexandra, 32, refuses to download Max "out of contrariness" to its heavy-handed promotion.
"We're already being watched everywhere," she added, dismissing the privacy concerns.
But another resistant user -- Natasha, 48 -- shows the general feeling of resignation when it comes to the future of the app in Russia.
"Sooner or later, there will be no alternative."
bur/gv

Israel

Global economy under 'major threat' from Strait of Hormuz crisis: IEA chief

  • "No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction.
  • The global economy is under "major threat" from the energy crisis caused by the Middle East war and "no country will be immune" to its effects, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol said Monday.
  • "No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction.
The global economy is under "major threat" from the energy crisis caused by the Middle East war and "no country will be immune" to its effects, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol said Monday.
Speaking at the National Press Club in Australia's capital, Birol compared the current energy crisis to those of the 1970s and the impact of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
"This crisis as things stand is now two oil crises and one gas crash put all together," Birol said.
"The global economy is facing a major, major threat today, and I very much hope that this issue will be resolved as soon as possible. 
"No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction. So there is a need for global efforts."
US President Donald Trump and Tehran have issued tit-for-tat threats as the war entered its fourth week, with the US president demanding the Islamic republic reopen the blocked Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20 percent of the world's oil and gas shipments transit. 
The bottleneck has nearly halted all petroleum shipments through the narrow waterway.
Oil prices rose again early Monday, with US benchmark crude briefly touching the $100-per-barrel mark.
Birol told Australian media that at least forty energy assets across the region had been "severely or very severely damaged" in the conflict.
oho/tc

meteorology

Planet trapped record heat in 2025: UN

BY ALEXANDRE GROSBOIS

  • "Ocean heat content reached a new record high in 2025 and its rate of warming more than doubled from 1960-2005 to 2005-2025," the WMO said.
  • The amount of heat trapped by the Earth reached record levels in 2025, with the consequences of such warming feared to last for thousands of years, the UN warned Monday.
  • "Ocean heat content reached a new record high in 2025 and its rate of warming more than doubled from 1960-2005 to 2005-2025," the WMO said.
The amount of heat trapped by the Earth reached record levels in 2025, with the consequences of such warming feared to last for thousands of years, the UN warned Monday.
The 11 hottest years ever recorded were all between 2015 and 2025, the United Nations' WMO weather and climate agency confirmed in its flagship State of the Global Climate annual report.
Last year was the second or third hottest year on record, at about 1.43 Celsius above the 1850-1900 average, the World Meteorological Organization said.
"The global climate is in a state of emergency. Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits. Every key climate indicator is flashing red," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
"Humanity has just endured the 11 hottest years on record. When history repeats itself 11 times, it is no longer a coincidence. It is a call to act."
For the first time, the WMO climate report includes the planet's energy imbalance: the rate at which energy enters and leaves the Earth system.
Under a stable climate, incoming energy from the Sun is about the same as the amount of outgoing energy, the Geneva-based agency said.
However the increase in concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases -- carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide -- "to their highest level in at least 800,000 years" has "upset this equilibrium", the WMO said.
"The Earth’s energy imbalance has increased since its observational record began in 1960, particularly in the past 20 years. It reached a new high in 2025."

Ocean heat record

WMO chief Celeste Saulo said scientific advances had improved understanding of the energy imbalance and its implications for the climate.
"Human activities are increasingly disrupting the natural equilibrium and we will live with these consequences for hundreds and thousands of years," she said.
More than 91 percent of the excess heat is stored in the ocean.
"Ocean heat content reached a new record high in 2025 and its rate of warming more than doubled from 1960-2005 to 2005-2025," the WMO said.
Ocean warming has far-reaching consequences, such as degradation of marine ecosystems, biodiversity loss and reduction of the ocean carbon sink, the agency said.
"It fuels tropical and subtropical storms and exacerbates ongoing sea-ice loss in the polar regions."
The Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets have both lost considerable mass, and the annual average extent of Arctic sea ice in 2025 was the lowest or second-lowest ever recorded in the satellite era.
Last year, the global mean sea level was around 11 centimetres higher than when satellite altimetry records began in 1993. 
Ocean warming and sea level rise are projected to continue for centuries.

'Dire picture'

WMO scientific officer John Kennedy said global weather is still under the influence of La Nina, a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that cools surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. It brings changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns.
Conditions oscillate between La Nina and its warming opposite El Nino, with neutral conditions in between.
The warmest year on record, 2024, was around 1.55C above the 1850-1900 average, and started in a strong El Nino.
Forecasts indicate neutral conditions by the middle of 2026 with a possible El Nino developing before the end of the year, said Kennedy.
If so, "then we're likely to see maybe elevated temperatures again in 2027", he told a press conference.
The World Meteorological Organization's deputy chief, Ko Barrett, said the outlook was a "dire picture".
She said the WMO provided the evidence it sees, hoping that the information "will encourage people to take action".
But there was "no denying" that "these indicators are not moving in a direction that provides for a lot of hope", she said.
With war gripping the Middle East and fuel prices soaring, Guterres said the world should heed the alarm call.
"In this age of war, climate stress is also exposing another truth: our addiction to fossil fuels is destabilising both the climate and global security," he said.
"Today's report should come with a warning label: climate chaos is accelerating and delay is deadly," he said.
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