diplomacy

UK PM denies misleading MPs, says officials hid Mandelson info

diplomacy

Pope visits Eq. Guinea on last stop of Africa tour

BY CLEMENT MELKI WITH SAMUEL OBIANG IN MALABO

  • All eyes are whether that trend will continue in Equatorial Guinea, where he will be hosted by a government regularly accused of authoritarianism and human rights abuses. 
  • Pope Leo XIV left on Tuesday for the final leg of his African tour in Equatorial Guinea, where his increasingly vocal defences of human rights will be closely watched in one of the most closed-off states on the continent.
  • All eyes are whether that trend will continue in Equatorial Guinea, where he will be hosted by a government regularly accused of authoritarianism and human rights abuses. 
Pope Leo XIV left on Tuesday for the final leg of his African tour in Equatorial Guinea, where his increasingly vocal defences of human rights will be closely watched in one of the most closed-off states on the continent.
After taking off from Angola in the morning following a three-day visit, the US-born pontiff is due around noon (1100 GMT) in the Central African country, ruled since 1979 by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 83, the world's longest-serving head of state who is not a monarch. 
Leo follows in the footsteps of John Paul II, who 40 years ago became the first pope to visit Equatorial Guinea, an oil-rich country of two million people, 80 percent of whom are Catholic, a legacy of Spanish colonisation.
Throughout his African tour, the pope has criticised tyranny and exploitation while promoting peace and social, swapping his previously reserved style for a tougher tone. 
All eyes are whether that trend will continue in Equatorial Guinea, where he will be hosted by a government regularly accused of authoritarianism and human rights abuses. 
Most of the country's opposition figures and independent media, hounded by the authorities, are in exile in Spain. 
"The pope is coming for the country's leaders. His visit won't do anything for us, because he's not coming to persuade the ruling class to take our suffering and grievances into account at the expense of their own enrichment with the country's resources," said Anita Oye, a tomato seller in the former capital Malabo.
The majority of the population remains poor despite one of the highest per capita incomes in Africa, due in particular to oil revenues.
The Equatorial Guinean authorities are regularly singled out by international NGOs for endemic corruption and repression of the opposition, marked by arbitrary detentions and curbs on public freedoms. 

'Spiritual change'

In Malabo, located on the island of Bioko in the Gulf of Guinea, giant portraits of the pope and welcome banners line the streets, alongside flags of the Vatican and Equatorial Guinea. 
A hymn composed in his honour will be sung by church choirs across the country throughout his visit.  
Malabo resident Juan Raul told AFP he sees the visit as an opportunity to bring the nation together.
"This will bring spiritual change and motivate many people to go to mass," he said.
But some fear that the country's people will have to foot the bill for the pope's visit, including Andres Esono Ondo, who heads the country's only approved opposition party, the Convergence for Social Democracy. 
Ondo feared that the trip would cause even more suffering among a population forced to bear "the economic damage", which he assumed was "something the pope does not wish for".
Leo will speak on Tuesday before the president, members of the government, the diplomatic corps and civil society, as well as representatives of the cultural sector. 
On Wednesday, he will travel to Obiang's Mongomo stronghold to hold a mass and greet students and teachers at a technology school named after Pope Francis. 
He will then continue to the economic capital Bata to pay tribute to the victims of a 2021 explosion that killed more than 108 people in a military camp and also visit inmates at Bata prison. 
On Thursday, the pontiff will hold a large mass at Malabo stadium before wrapping up his whirlwind 11-day 18,000-kilometre (11,200-mile) journey across Africa.
sam-cmk-cc/cpy/jnd/giv/sbk

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • - Trump backs blockade - Trump said the United States would not lift its blockade of Iranian ports until Tehran had agreed a peace deal to end the war.
  • The latest developments in the Middle East war: - No Iranian departure - Iranian state television said that no Iranian delegation had yet departed for talks in Pakistan with the United States. 
  • - Trump backs blockade - Trump said the United States would not lift its blockade of Iranian ports until Tehran had agreed a peace deal to end the war.
The latest developments in the Middle East war:

No Iranian departure

Iranian state television said that no Iranian delegation had yet departed for talks in Pakistan with the United States. 
"So far, no delegation from Iran has departed for Islamabad, Pakistan; whether it is the main or subsidiary delegation; primary or secondary," state TV said, dismissing reports suggesting otherwise.
A source familiar with the US planning for the talks told AFP that an American delegation will head to Pakistan "soon" for a new round of peace negotiations.

Israel pressure

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said his country's campaign in Lebanon relied on both military and diplomatic pressure to disarm Iran-allied Hezbollah. 
"The overarching goal of the campaign in Lebanon is to disarm Hezbollah and remove the threat to the northern communities (of Israel), through a combination of military and diplomatic measures," Katz said.

Iran hangs man

Iran executed a man convicted of helping set fire to a major mosque in Tehran and of collaborating with Israel and the United States during pre-war protests, the judiciary said.
"Amir Ali Mirjafari... one of the armed elements collaborating with the enemy who had attempted to set fire to the Gholhak Grand Mosque and was the leader of the Mossad network's anti-security activities in that area, was hanged this morning," the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported. 

Oil dips, stocks rise

Oil prices fell while stocks rose on lingering hopes for a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Benchmark Brent North Sea Crude was down 0.7 percent at $94.78 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate fell 1.4 percent to $88.35 a barrel around 0715 GMT.

Iranian ships slip blockade

Shipping industry intelligence site Lloyd's List reported that more than 20 Iranian so-called "shadow vessels", had transited past the US blockade.
The channel in peacetime sees around 120 daily transits, according to the site. 

Trump's 'difficult' uranium

US President Donald Trump said Monday the United States obtaining uranium from Iran would be "long" and "difficult" in the aftermath of last year's US strikes on Tehran's nuclear sites.
"Operation Midnight Hammer was a complete and total obliteration of the Nuclear Dust sites in Iran," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding: "Therefore, digging it out will be a long and difficult process."
The US leader regularly uses the term "nuclear dust" to refer to Iran's stock of enriched uranium but he has also sometimes used it to refer to material left from US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.

US hosts Israel, Lebanon

America's State Department will host new talks on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon, a US official told AFP on condition of anonymity, after a previous meeting saw the start of a tense ceasefire.
"We will continue to facilitate direct, good-faith discussions between the two governments," the official said.

Trump backs blockade

Trump said the United States would not lift its blockade of Iranian ports until Tehran had agreed a peace deal to end the war.
"They are losing $500 Million Dollars a day, an unsustainable number, even in the short run," he said on social media.
burs-sbk/rmb

clothing

Associated British Foods to spin off Primark clothes brand

  • The spin-off is expected to be completed by the end of 2027, with shareholders retaining shares in both businesses.
  • Associated British Foods announced Tuesday that it would spin off its budget fashion chain Primark, splitting up one of the country's largest consumer businesses.
  • The spin-off is expected to be completed by the end of 2027, with shareholders retaining shares in both businesses.
Associated British Foods announced Tuesday that it would spin off its budget fashion chain Primark, splitting up one of the country's largest consumer businesses.
"A demerger of Primark is the best way to maximise long-term returns for shareholders, reflecting Primark's scale today and the need for a better understanding of the Food business," Michael McLintock, chair of ABF, said in a statement.
The demerger review was conducted in consultation with ABF's largest shareholder, Wittington Investments, which will maintain majority ownership in both companies.
Both entities are expected to be listed in London's top-tier FTSE 100 index. 
Ireland-headquartered Primark, which operates across 19 markets and has more than 80,000 employees,  accounts for roughly half of ABF's sales.
The rest of the business is focused on food, with ABF being a major producer of sugar and the owner of brands such as Twinings tea. 
The spin-off is expected to be completed by the end of 2027, with shareholders retaining shares in both businesses.
"The bigger Primark has got, the stronger the call to let it stand on its own," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. 
"The type of investor who wants to own shares in a food products and ingredients business is not necessarily the same as one seeking exposure to the retail sector," he said.
ABF unveiled the spin-off as it reported a fall in both profit and revenue.
"We knew the first half of this financial year was going to be challenging and that's borne out in our financial results," ABF's chief executive George Weston. 
But he said "Primark continued to make strong progress in re-energising its customer proposition in a difficult clothing market."
In November, ABF reported a full-year net profit drop of nearly 30 percent to £1 billion ($1.3 billion). 
ajb/js

gangs

El Salvador holds mass trial of nearly 500 alleged gang members

  • The country's court system said the trial included "members of the national leadership, street-level leaders, program coordinators from across the country, and founders of" MS-13.
  • Nearly 490 alleged members of the powerful Central American gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), including several alleged leaders, went on trial collectively in El Salvador on Monday, accused of thousands of murders.
  • The country's court system said the trial included "members of the national leadership, street-level leaders, program coordinators from across the country, and founders of" MS-13.
Nearly 490 alleged members of the powerful Central American gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), including several alleged leaders, went on trial collectively in El Salvador on Monday, accused of thousands of murders.
El Salvador is conducting mass trials of thousands of suspected gang members, many of whom have spent years in prison without charge or visiting rights, as part of iron-fisted President Nayib Bukele's anti-gang crackdown.
The Attorney General's Office said 486 suspected MS-13 members were on trial for 47,000 crimes committed between 2012 and 2022, including 29,000 homicides.
The country's court system said the trial included "members of the national leadership, street-level leaders, program coordinators from across the country, and founders of" MS-13.
Salvadoran authorities accuse the group of a range of crimes, including the killing of 87 people in a single weekend in March 2022.
In the wake of those killings, Bukele, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, declared a "war" on gangs, which he said controlled 80 percent of Salvadoran territory.
MS-13 is charged with the crime of rebellion "because they sought to... establish a parallel state," the Attorney General's Office said.
"We are going to put them on trial, and we are going to settle a historic debt," prosecutors said.
Bukele in 2022 imposed a state of emergency, which has been used to arrest more than 91,000 suspected gang members, including thousands of people who were later declared innocent.
The campaign, which made Bukele hugely popular, has resulted in a dramatic decrease in crime, turning El Salvador from one of Latin America's most dangerous countries to one of its safest.
Rights groups, however, have denounced gross human rights abuses, including a lack of due process for the detainees, reports of torture and more than 500 deaths in prison.

One conviction for all

The fates of the detainees are now being decided in mass trials, with anonymous judges handing down one-size-fit-all punishments to large groups of defendants following the proceedings via video-link from prison.
MS-13 and the rival Barrio 18 gang operate drug trafficking rings and extortion rackets across Central America.
The Trump administration has declared the two groups -- among others -- as terrorist organizations, designations it has used in part to justify deadly military strikes on alleged drug-running boats.
The two gangs were born among Salvadoran youth on the streets of Los Angeles and then spread back to El Salvador, where they terrorized the population for more than three decades.
Bukele has accused them of murdering 200,000 people over three decades, including about 80,000 who disappeared without trace.
State prosecutors said they had "ample evidence to request the maximum sentences" against the defendants, without specifying whether that meant life imprisonment.
At the opening of the trial, the judge stated that armed groups had disturbed "the peace of the Salvadoran population and the security of the state" for decades, and would be tried "with the full force of the law."
New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) and regional NGO Cristosal have criticized the mass trials, warning of the risk of innocent people being made to pay for the crimes of the guilty.
bur/mis/cb/lga/mtp

Israel

US and Iran warn they are ready for war as talks in limbo

BY AFP TEAMS IN WASHINGTON, TEHRAN AND ISLAMABAD

  • - 'Agreed' to attend talks - Trump told PBS News that Iran was "supposed to be there" at the talks in Pakistan.
  • The United States and Iran both warned they were ready for war as the clock ticked down on a ceasefire on Tuesday, with uncertainty over whether talks that President Donald Trump had announced would resume in Pakistan.
  • - 'Agreed' to attend talks - Trump told PBS News that Iran was "supposed to be there" at the talks in Pakistan.
The United States and Iran both warned they were ready for war as the clock ticked down on a ceasefire on Tuesday, with uncertainty over whether talks that President Donald Trump had announced would resume in Pakistan.
The White House said Vice President JD Vance was ready to fly back to Islamabad, which was preparing for a second round of talks on ending the war that has engulfed the Middle East and shaken global markets.
However, Tehran's government declined to confirm that it would participate and accused the United States of violating the truce through its blockade of Iranian ports and seizure of a ship.
"By imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire, Trump wants to turn this negotiating table into a surrender table or justify renewed hostilities, as he sees fit," said Iran's powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who headed the delegations to talks in the Pakistani capital two weeks ago.
"We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the last two weeks we have been preparing to show new cards on the battlefield," he wrote on X.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned of targeting any vessel attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without permission.
Trump has similarly accused Tehran of violating the truce by harassing vessels in the key strait, the transit passage for about a fifth of the world's oil that Iran had all but shut in retaliation for the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28.
The channel sees around 120 daily transits in peacetime, according to Lloyd's List, a shipping industry intelligence site.
The site reported on Tuesday that more than 20 Iranian "shadow vessels" had transited past the US blockade.
Trump insisted in one of a series of posts on his Truth Social platform that the blockade was "absolutely destroying" Iran and said it will not end "until there is a 'DEAL'," in which the United States is pressing for Iranian concessions on its contested nuclear programme.

'Agreed' to attend talks

Trump told PBS News that Iran was "supposed to be there" at the talks in Pakistan.
"We agreed to be there," he said, warning that if the ceasefire expired "then lots of bombs start going off".
He separately told Bloomberg News it was "highly unlikely" he would extend the two-week truce.
Based on its start time, the truce theoretically expires overnight on Tuesday, Tehran time, although Trump said in his comments to Bloomberg the end was a day later, on Wednesday evening Washington time.
Oil prices fell on Tuesday while most stocks rose on lingering hopes for a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite some normality returning to Tehran during the ceasefire, city residents who spoke to Paris-based AFP journalists said the situation was far from ideal.
"Let's see what happens by Tuesday," one 30-year-old doctor said on condition of anonymity.
Saghar, 39, said there was little hope for Iranians squeezed by the government and the war's impact, adding that the "economy is horrible". 

New Israel-Lebanon talks

A separate ceasefire agreed between Israel and Lebanon was announced on Friday and included Hezbollah, whose rocket fire in support of Iran drew Lebanon into the war.
Israel and Lebanon, which have no diplomatic relations, will hold a second round of talks in Washington on Thursday, a State Department official told AFP.
Sporadic violence continued and Israel's military warned civilians against returning to dozens of villages in southern Lebanon, claiming Hezbollah's activities were violating the truce.
The UN Security Council condemned on Monday the killing of a French peacekeeper in Lebanon, whose death Paris blamed on Hezbollah.
The Frenchman was killed and three others wounded when their unit was ambushed on Saturday as it headed to a UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) outpost cut off from the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told AFP that his group would work to break the "Yellow Line" that Israel has established in the south, even as he said it wanted "the ceasefire to continue".
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 2,387 people since the start of the war, a Lebanese government body said in its latest toll.
Another major issue in the US-Iran negotiations has been Tehran's stockpile of enriched uranium. 
Trump, who previously said Iran had agreed to hand over the uranium, said late on Monday that doing so would be "long" and "difficult" after US strikes on Tehran's nuclear sites last year.
"Operation Midnight Hammer was a complete and total obliteration of the Nuclear Dust sites in Iran," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "Therefore, digging it out will be a long and difficult process."
Trump uses the term "nuclear dust" to refer to Iran's stock of enriched uranium, which the United States accuses Iran of hoarding in order to make an atomic bomb.
Iran's foreign ministry said earlier that the stockpile was "not going to be transferred anywhere" and that the option was "never raised" in talks with US negotiators.
burs-sct/sla/ane/pbt

crime

Mexico pyramid gunman kills Canadian tourist, wounds six

  • Mexico's nearly 200 archaeological sites are popular with tourists, and although accidents have been reported, this is the first reported case of armed violence in decades.
  • A gunman killed a Canadian tourist and wounded six other people on Monday at Mexico's famed Teotihuacan archaeological site, authorities said.
  • Mexico's nearly 200 archaeological sites are popular with tourists, and although accidents have been reported, this is the first reported case of armed violence in decades.
A gunman killed a Canadian tourist and wounded six other people on Monday at Mexico's famed Teotihuacan archaeological site, authorities said.
The gunman killed himself after opening fire at the heavily visited destination in central Mexico, home to pre-Aztecan pyramids, according to a security official.
The shooting occurred on the Pyramid of the Moon, a 45-meter (nearly 150-foot) high monument visitors are allowed to climb using steep steps carved of volcanic rock. 
Six people were wounded by gunfire and taken to local hospitals, including a Canadian woman, a Colombian woman and child, a Brazilian and two Americans.
Seven other people were injured in the scramble for safety and were treated at the scene after the gunman -- identified as Julio Cesar Jasso Ramirez of Mexico -- opened fire.
The midday shooting stunned tourists at one of Mexico's most visited pre-Hispanic sites, less than two months before the 2026 World Cup kicks off with games in Mexico, the United States and Canada.
AFPTV footage showed a body wrapped in a white sheet being walked down the steps of the pyramid.
State authorities at the scene seized a firearm, a knife and unused ammunition and evacuated tourists from the premises.
More than 2,000 years old, the pyramid city near Mexico City attracted over 1.8 million visitors in 2025, tourism officials said. 
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand in a post on X called the attack "a horrific act of gun violence." 
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called for a thorough investigation, and said she sent personnel to the site to provide assistance.
"What happened today in Teotihuacan deeply pains us," Sheinbaum posted on X.

'Send security'

Located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the capital Mexico City, Teotihuacan draws domestic and foreign tourists to see its pyramids and its Avenue of the Dead.
Federal security officials said police and the national guard were dispatched to the area following the attack.
Videos on social media showed the gunman firing periodic shots from a pistol about halfway up the Pyramid of the Moon while some tourists took cover behind stairs below and others fled.
"A person is opening fire on us, take care friends, send security," a voice from one video, which AFP has not verified, can be heard saying. 
Other videos show authorities examining the pyramid in a complex cordoned off with crime-scene tape.
Designated as a World Heritage site of "outstanding universal value" by the United Nations, the monuments at Teotihuacan were built in the pre-Hispanic Classic period -- a golden age of Mesoamerican history -- between the first and seventh centuries.
Mexico's nearly 200 archaeological sites are popular with tourists, and although accidents have been reported, this is the first reported case of armed violence in decades.
While Mexico continues to struggle with frequent drug gang-related violence, untargeted mass shootings are relatively rare, especially compared to the country's northern neighbor, the United States.
Mexico expects over 5.5 million visitors for the World Cup in June, when the popular football contest hosts national teams from around the world.
American tourist Anna Durmont, a 37-year-old art historian, told AFP she was walking towards the pyramid when she was startled by the sight of emergency vehicles and police.
"It actually felt extremely calm," Durmont said, explaining she hadn't heard gunfire. 
"It was very measured. The park is full of souvenir sellers and they hadn't left. It wasn't clear to us until we got closer that there was a serious emergency," she said.
bur-lga/jm

election

Democrats eye Virginia gains in war with Trump over US voting map

BY FRANKIE TAGGART

  • "By voting yes, you can push back against the Republicans trying to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms...
  • Virginia votes Tuesday in a referendum that could hand Democrats four extra seats in the US House of Representatives, turning President Donald Trump's redistricting push into a potential liability for Republicans in upcoming midterm elections.
  • "By voting yes, you can push back against the Republicans trying to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms...
Virginia votes Tuesday in a referendum that could hand Democrats four extra seats in the US House of Representatives, turning President Donald Trump's redistricting push into a potential liability for Republicans in upcoming midterm elections.
The battle over "gerrymandering" -- the long-established but widely criticized US practice of drawing electoral boundaries to benefit one party -- has become one of the defining fights of the campaign for November's midterm elections.
The ballot measure would temporarily let Virginia redraw its congressional map before the next scheduled nationwide redistricting in 2030, giving Democrats a strong advantage in 10 of the state's 11 House districts, up from their current 6-5 edge.
With control of the House on a knife edge, the vote could help determine whether Trump finishes his term with a compliant Republican Congress or a Democratic chamber empowered to block his agenda and investigate his administration.
Redistricting usually follows the national census every 10 years, but Trump last year urged Republican-led states to redraw maps mid-decade to protect the party's fragile House majority.
That triggered a tit-for-tat contest as both parties raced to squeeze out extra seats before November.
Texas moved first, adopting a map that could add up to five Republican seats. California answered with a ballot measure designed to give Democrats five of their own. 
Virginia is now one of Democrats' last major chances to gain ground through redistricting before voters decide control of Congress.
Democratic groups have poured money into the state, making the referendum one of the most expensive redistricting fights in US history. 
The main campaigns on both sides have raised nearly $100 million, much of it from "dark money" groups -- nonprofit organizations that can spend heavily on politics without publicly disclosing their donors.

'Unfair advantage'

The pro-redistricting campaign, Virginians for Fair Elections, has raised the lion's share -- nearly $65 million, according to The Hill. 
Former president Barack Obama, still one of the Democratic Party's most influential campaign voices, has urged Virginians to vote yes.
"By voting yes, you can push back against the Republicans trying to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms... And we're counting on you," he said in a video message.
Democrats argue that the Virginia map is a necessary counterweight to Trump's pressure campaign. Republicans call it a naked power grab in a politically mixed state where Trump took 46 percent of the vote in 2024. 
US Congresswoman Jen Kiggans, a Virginia Republican whose district could be affected, told ABC News that forcing the measure through would "come back to bite" Democrats.
More than one million Virginians have already had their say, with early and absentee voting data cited by The Hill giving Democrats a sizable advantage.
But recent polling suggests supporters hold only a narrow edge, and University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato cautioned that the outcome was not guaranteed.
"To get 10 out of 11 seats is not easy, even with Virginia leaning more Democratic," he told AFP. "And of late... it hasn't been as Democratic as it had been previously."
A victory would boost House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who has spearheaded efforts to neutralize Trump-backed maps in Republican states. 
Defeat would be damaging, particularly for Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, whose approval ratings have dipped as she champions the plan.
The result will also shape the final phase of the national map fight. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is pushing a special session that could allow Republicans to gain as many as five seats, potentially wiping out any Democratic gains in Virginia.
ft-rle/ksb

tourism

Gun battle traps more than 200 tourists at Rio viewpoint

  • The tourists descended the hill after receiving the green light from the police.
  • More than 200 tourists were trapped Monday atop an iconic hill overlooking Rio de Janeiro after a gunfight broke out between police and drug gangs in a nearby favela, authorities and a tour operator said.
  • The tourists descended the hill after receiving the green light from the police.
More than 200 tourists were trapped Monday atop an iconic hill overlooking Rio de Janeiro after a gunfight broke out between police and drug gangs in a nearby favela, authorities and a tour operator said.
Visitors were stranded for about two hours on Morro Dois Irmaos -- or Two Brothers Hill -- while fighting raged on a hillside below them between police and members of Comando Vermelho, one of Brazil's largest criminal groups.
The hilltop, which overlooks Ipanema and Leblon beaches from its 533-meter (1,750-feet) height, is one of the city's most famous viewpoints and attracts thousands of visitors each week. 
"There were more than 200 people taking the tour this morning. Seventy percent were foreign tourists," Renan Monteiro, from the tour operator Favela Turismo, told AFP.
Monteiro lamented that news of such gun battles would hurt tourism.
Police said in a statement that when officers arrived at the Vidigal favela, drug traffickers opened fire.
The tourists descended the hill after receiving the green light from the police. The operation resulted in the arrest of three people and no injuries.
Rio received more than 2.1 million international visitors in 2025, a record.
ll-rsr-lg/mjf/des

US

Israel PM vows 'harsh action' against soldier vandalising Jesus statue in Lebanon

  • The photo, which the military determined was authentic after it spread online, shows an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off a cross.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed "harsh action" on Monday against a soldier caught on camera vandalising a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon.
  • The photo, which the military determined was authentic after it spread online, shows an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off a cross.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed "harsh action" on Monday against a soldier caught on camera vandalising a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon.
The photo, which the military determined was authentic after it spread online, shows an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off a cross.
The sculpture was located in the Christian village of Debl in south Lebanon, near the border with Israel, the local municipality told AFP, but officials could not say whether it had been damaged. 
AFP geolocated the image to confirm it was taken in Debl, but is currently unable to access the village.
"I was stunned and saddened to learn that an IDF soldier damaged a Catholic religious icon in southern Lebanon," Netanyahu wrote on X.
"I condemn the act in the strongest terms. Military authorities are conducting a criminal probe of the matter and will take appropriately harsh disciplinary action against the offender," he added.
Israel has conducted airstrikes across Lebanon and invaded the country's south after Hezbollah entered the Middle East war in support of its backer Iran on March 2. 
The fighting killed nearly 2,300 people and displaced more than a million before a ceasefire came into effect last week. Israel has lost 15 soldiers in the war.

'Profound indignation

The military said it had determined after an investigation that the image circulating on social media was genuine and showed an Israeli soldier operating in southern Lebanon.
Checks carried out by AFP using detection tools suggested the image was likely genuine, though there were other manipulated photos circulating on social media.
The Israeli military said in a post on its official X account that it viewed the incident with "great severity", adding that the "soldier's conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops".
The military said "appropriate measures will be taken against those involved" but did not go into further detail.
It said it is working with the community to "restore the statue to its place".
The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land in a statement published by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem expressed "its profound indignation and unreserved condemnation".
"This act constitutes a grave affront to the Christian faith and adds to other reported incidents of desecration of Christian symbols by IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon," the statement said.
"The Assembly calls for immediate and decisive disciplinary action, a credible process of accountability, and clear assurances that such conduct will neither be tolerated nor repeated."
"For this reason, the Assembly renews, with urgency, its call to bring to an end the war that has tormented this region for far too long."
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the conduct as "shameful and disgraceful".
"I am confident that necessary severe measures will be taken against whoever committed this ugly act," he wrote on X.
"We apologise for this incident and to every Christian whose feelings were hurt."
Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon despite the ceasefire.
Netanyahu last month was drawn into a row around religion and forced to defend himself after he said that Jesus had "no advantage" over Mongolian conqueror Genghis Khan.
ha-lba-jd/lba/dcp

entertainment

Singer D4vd charged with murder after teen's body found in Tesla

BY HUW GRIFFITH

  • The Tesla, which was registered to Burke in Texas, had been parked on the street in the upscale Hollywood Hills for around a month before it was towed.
  • Singer D4vd was charged Monday with the murder and dismemberment of his young teenage girlfriend, whose decomposing corpse was found in a Tesla that had been abandoned in the Hollywood Hills.
  • The Tesla, which was registered to Burke in Texas, had been parked on the street in the upscale Hollywood Hills for around a month before it was towed.
Singer D4vd was charged Monday with the murder and dismemberment of his young teenage girlfriend, whose decomposing corpse was found in a Tesla that had been abandoned in the Hollywood Hills.
The 21-year-old, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, faces a possible death penalty over the horrifying death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose body was discovered in September, within days of what would have been her 15th birthday.
"Celeste was just a child, under 14 years old, when David Burke allegedly engaged in repeated lewd and lascivious sexual relations with her," Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.
"When she threatened to expose his criminal conduct and devastate his musical career, Burke allegedly murdered her, cut up her body and stuffed her body in two bags that were placed in the front trunk of his car."
Hochman said Celeste's mutilated corpse sat rotting for four months until it was discovered.
"This horrific and gruesome murder committed by the charged sexual predator is shocking and appalling. To Celeste's loved ones: we will get the justice you seek and deserve."
Burke shot to internet fame in 2022 when his song "Romantic Homicide" became a breakout hit on TikTok.
He was on a national tour when detectives were called to a Hollywood tow yard after neighbors complained of a terrible smell coming from an impounded vehicle.
The Tesla, which was registered to Burke in Texas, had been parked on the street in the upscale Hollywood Hills for around a month before it was towed.
But investigators believe Celeste's remains may have been in the front trunk for much longer.
"The condition of her remains delayed the medical examiner's ability to be able to determine cause of death," Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell told the press conference.
"The substantial amount of time that passed between her death and the discovery meant that crucial evidence had degraded or disappeared."
Burke faces one count each of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and unlawful mutilation of human remains.
A lawyer entered not-guilty pleas on his behalf during a brief court appearance in Los Angeles on Monday.
Burke was ordered to appear in court again on Thursday. He remains in custody.
The artist's lawyers last week denied their client had killed the youngster.
"Let us be clear, the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez, and he was not the cause of her death," a statement from lawyers Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski, and Regina Peter said. 
"We will vigorously defend David's innocence."
Celeste, who lived in Lake Elsinore, east of Los Angeles, had been reported missing by her mother in 2024, at the age of 13. 
Her mother told reporters that her daughter had a boyfriend named David. 
Videos show Burke has a tattoo on one of his fingers matching the one reading "Shhh" that the Los Angeles County medical examiner previously revealed was on Celeste's index finger.   
The pair were also seen on streaming websites together.
hg/bgs

diplomacy

UK PM denies misleading MPs, says officials hid Mandelson info

BY PETER HUTCHISON AND JOE JACKSON

  • I should not have appointed Peter Mandelson."
  • Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday denied misleading parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK envoy to Washington, and accused officials of deliberately hiding information that the Labour politician had been denied security clearance.
  • I should not have appointed Peter Mandelson."
Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday denied misleading parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK envoy to Washington, and accused officials of deliberately hiding information that the Labour politician had been denied security clearance.
Starmer, who is struggling to contain the fallout over his decision to name Mandelson to the post, admitted he had been wrong to appoint the 72-year-old.
Mandelson was already a known associate of late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and had twice had to resign from earlier Labour government posts.
Addressing parliament again about the deepening political row, Starmer said: "At the heart of this, there is also a judgment I made that was wrong. I should not have appointed Peter Mandelson."
The scandal has threatened to bring down the prime minister, who faced fresh calls to quit last week after it was revealed that Mandelson had failed security checks.
Already unpopular with the public and some Labour MPs, Starmer has insisted he and other ministers had not been told until last week that the Mandelson's security approval had been declined.
"It beggars belief that throughout the whole timeline of events, officials in the Foreign Office saw fit to withhold this information from the most senior ministers in our system, in government," he told MPs.
The information about Mandelson's failed security vetting had been withheld from him, he said.
"I was not provided with information I should have been provided with. Had I been provided, I wouldn't have made the decision. It was a deliberate decision. It wasn't negligence. It was a deliberate decision not to tell me."
Two lawmakers -- one from the left-wing Your Party and another from the far-right Reform UK, were removed from the session for accusing Starmer of lying over the issue and refusing to withdraw their statements.
"He is gaslighting the nation. So let's call this out for what it is. The prime minister is a bare-faced liar," said left-winger Zarah Sultana before being ordered out by the speaker.

'Unconventional'

Last Thursday, Starmer sacked the Foreign Office's top civil servant, Olly Robbins, telling MPs he had also now set in motion a review of the security vetting process.
But former civil servants have accused Starmer of scapegoating Robbins, who will give his own account to a parliamentary watchdog committee on Tuesday.
Lawmakers will also hold an emergency debate in parliament after the leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, said there remained "serious questions about what he (Starmer) knew and when".
Opposition leaders have called for Starmer to step down, with accusations ranging from incompetence to the wilful misleading of parliamentarians and the public.
"We still do not know exactly why Peter Mandelson failed that vetting," Badenoch told parliament.
She and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey again called for Starmer to resign.
Davey said the prime minister had made "a catastrophic error of judgment, and now that it's blown up in his face, the only decent thing to do is to take responsibility".
Senior ministers have however so far rallied around Starmer.
"A judgment 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 said Monday.

'He has to go'

Other ministers have argued that Starmer should remain in power amid the global tumult sparked by the Middle East war.
But polls suggest Starmer is one of Britain's most unpopular prime ministers ever.
If the centre-left Labour leader knew about the failed vetting "then he has to go, he has to resign", retired dentist Andrews Connell, 59, told AFP.
But retiree Duncan Moss, 67, said he would be "very worried if Starmer was to leave ... I think he's doing a very good job."
Starmer sacked Mandelson in September 2025, seven months after he took up the post, after new details emerged about the depth of the ex-envoy's ties to Epstein, who died in a US prison in 2019 while facing sex-trafficking charges.
UK police are investigating allegations of misconduct in office by Mandelson when he was a Labour minister more than 15 years ago.
He was arrested and released in February. and has not been charged. Mandelson denies criminal wrongdoing.
Starmer and the Labour party are also bracing for a potentially chastening set of local elections next month, including in the devolved Scottish and Welsh parliaments.
pdh-jkb-har/jhb

immigration

EU to host Taliban officials for talks on deporting Afghans

  • The Taliban delegation's visit was initially planned for late March, but is now set for the coming weeks, sources told AFP, confirming a report by news site Euractiv.
  • Taliban officials are expected in Brussels in the coming weeks for talks on deporting Afghans from the EU to their home country, sources told AFP. The European Union has been working on plans to deport those with no right to stay in the bloc back to Afghanistan, despite concerns from rights groups and the United Nations refugee agency.
  • The Taliban delegation's visit was initially planned for late March, but is now set for the coming weeks, sources told AFP, confirming a report by news site Euractiv.
Taliban officials are expected in Brussels in the coming weeks for talks on deporting Afghans from the EU to their home country, sources told AFP.
The European Union has been working on plans to deport those with no right to stay in the bloc back to Afghanistan, despite concerns from rights groups and the United Nations refugee agency.
The visit by Taliban officials, which is being coordinated by the European Commission and several member states, follows two trips by European officials to Afghanistan for "exploratory" discussions on the issue.
"The idea is to invite them before summer," a diplomatic source told AFP, saying the Taliban delegation would be a "technical" team.
European officials "are gathering information about flights, about capacity at Kabul airport, they're speaking with the Taliban about what would happen to the people sent back", said a source involved in the discussions.
The Commission has not yet sent an official invitation to the Taliban authorities.
Stepping up deportations has become a common refrain among EU countries, as souring public opinion on migration has fuelled right-wing electoral gains across the 27-nation bloc.
Around 20 EU countries have been exploring how to deport Afghans, particularly those convicted of crimes.
Germany has already started, deporting more than 100 Afghans since 2024, via charter flights facilitated by Qatar.
Austria has followed suit.
The Taliban delegation's visit was initially planned for late March, but is now set for the coming weeks, sources told AFP, confirming a report by news site Euractiv.
But the deportation push has raised multiple concerns.
Afghanistan is in the middle of a humanitarian crisis, compounded by drought and huge cuts in foreign aid, rights groups say.
And the EU does not officially recognise the Taliban authorities, who returned to power in 2021, imposing their strict interpretation of Islamic law.
EU countries received about a million asylum applications filed by Afghans between 2013 and 2024.
Afghans represented the largest group of applicants last year.
cjc/jhb/jj

diplomacy

Pope blasts 'exploitation' as he wraps up tour of Angola

BY CLéMENT MELKI

  • "We can see today how the hope of many people is frustrated by violence, exploited by the powerful and defrauded by the rich," the pope said in Portuguese at a giant open-air Mass at Saurimo.
  • Pope Leo XIV condemned exploitation and corruption by the rich and powerful during a visit Monday to Angola's diamond-rich but impoverished northeast, returning to a theme of his 11-day tour of Africa.
  • "We can see today how the hope of many people is frustrated by violence, exploited by the powerful and defrauded by the rich," the pope said in Portuguese at a giant open-air Mass at Saurimo.
Pope Leo XIV condemned exploitation and corruption by the rich and powerful during a visit Monday to Angola's diamond-rich but impoverished northeast, returning to a theme of his 11-day tour of Africa.
The American pope travels to Equatorial Guinea Tuesday to wrap up a mammoth 18,000-kilometre (11,000-mile) tour taking in four African countries.
On Monday morning, he visited the city of Saurimo, some 800 kilometres (500 miles) east of the capital, before returning to Luanda in the evening.
Under tropical heat and heavy security, Leo drove through the city of around 200,000 people along a route lined by hundreds of singing and cheering locals dressed in colourful outfits and waving white scarves.
Saurimo is the capital of the historically marginalised Lunda Sul province. It sits close to Angola's largest diamond mine, Catoca, which extracts around 75 percent of the country's diamonds.
Portuguese-speaking Angola is one of Africa's top producers of crude oil and diamonds.
But its riches benefit mainly the political and economic elite, as well as foreign companies, while around a third of its people live below the World Bank poverty line.
"We can see today how the hope of many people is frustrated by violence, exploited by the powerful and defrauded by the rich," the pope said in Portuguese at a giant open-air Mass at Saurimo.
"Consequently, when injustice corrupts hearts, the bread of all becomes the possession of a few."
Authorities estimated that about 40,000 people attended the service with another 20,000 taking part from surrounding areas.
The pope also criticised tyranny and exploitation in the first two legs of his marathon Africa journey, in Algeria and Cameroon, showing a tougher tone from a previously more reserved style.
 

Meeting the elderly

 
On landing in Saurimo, the pope visited a home for the elderly, underscoring the Catholic church's role in providing support in the impoverished area.
"Your presence in this home is a blessing from God," 72-year-old Antonio Joaquin told him.
Lunda Sul province, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, suffers extreme poverty, with mining blamed for environmental damage and the displacing of communities.
On the first day of his Angola stopover on Saturday, the pope spoke out against the harm caused by the rampant exploitation of the continent's natural resources.
"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.
Back in Luanda later Monday, Leo met members of the clergy to discuss challenges facing the church in Angola, including a lack of resources and the growing influence of evangelicism, witchcraft and cults.
"There's this phenomenon of small churches springing up in neighbourhoods. It's worrying because they don't preach the Gospels; they preach prosperity, money," Father Vincent M'bra Yao, 58, told AFP.
In his address at the Our Lady of Fatima Parish, the 70-year-old pope said: "Continue to be a generous Church, cooperating in the integral development of your country.
"Everything you have accomplished in the fields of education and health care has been and remains crucial," he told the crowd, which local authorities said numbered around 50,000.
After John Paul II in 1992 and Benedict XVI in 2009, Leo is the third pope to visit Angola, 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, he 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".
Some 44 percent of the population, about 15 million Angolans, identify as Catholic, according to a 2024 census. 
cmk-fal/br/jj

US

Swiss football club turn down Kanye West concert approach

  • It is understood that FC Basel was approached about a possible June 26 concert date but turned down the enquiry.
  • Swiss football club FC Basel on Monday confirmed to AFP they had turned down an approach about staging a Kanye West concert at their St. Jakob-Park ground.
  • It is understood that FC Basel was approached about a possible June 26 concert date but turned down the enquiry.
Swiss football club FC Basel on Monday confirmed to AFP they had turned down an approach about staging a Kanye West concert at their St. Jakob-Park ground.
The US rapper had a string of performances in Europe lined up over the coming months, but several have been cancelled or postponed in the last fortnight.
The 48-year-old artist, also known as Ye, has been heavily criticised for making antisemitic remarks and voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler.
St. Jakob-Park in Basel, on the French and German borders, is the biggest-capacity sports stadium in Switzerland and staged the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 final. The venue can host 40,000 fans during concerts.
Reigning Swiss champions Basel said they were interested in making more use of the venue in the northern city and carefully reviewed all enquiries.
"In this case, FCB received an enquiry and considered it," a spokesman for the club told AFP when asked about West.
"However, after a thorough review, we decided not to pursue the project further, as we cannot, in accordance with our values, provide a platform for the artist in question within this context."
The musician and producer has lost fans and several sponsorships in recent years following inflammatory comments and actions. 
No Basel concert was ever officially confirmed. It is understood that FC Basel was approached about a possible June 26 concert date but turned down the enquiry.
Britain has blocked the US rapper from entering the country due to his outbursts, prompting organisers of a three-night London festival he was headlining to cancel the July event.
West then announced last week that a concert he had planned to give in the French city of Marseille on June 11 had been postponed after authorities voiced opposition.
And a concert scheduled to take place in Poland on June 19 was cancelled by the venue in Chorzow on Friday, following condemnation of his antisemitic remarks.
West has previously said "I love Nazis", sold t-shirts featuring a swastika on his website, and last year released a track titled "Heil Hitler", which was banned by the main streaming platforms.
In January this year, he took out a full-page advert in The Wall Street Journal newspaper to declare "I am not a Nazi or an antisemite". He attributed his controversial behaviour to a "manic episode" brought on by bipolar disorder.
rjm/apo/jj

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 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.
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".
Later in the evening, authorities had downgraded tsunami warnings for waves up to one metre (3.3 feet) to advisories along the vast northeastern Pacific coast, including in Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, and Fukushima prefectures. It later lifted these advisories altogether around midnight, according to Japanese news agency Kyodo.

'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-pnb/ami/msp

Israel

Iran pulling Hormuz 'lever' to maximum in US standoff

BY STUART WILLIAMS

  • "As long as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was in power, the Islamic Republic at times sent mixed signals about its nuclear program and threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, but stopped short of both," said Ali Alfoneh, senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute and author of "Political Succession in the Islamic Republic of Iran".
  • Iran is banking on the Strait of Hormuz as its main card in any peace negotiations with the United States, but using the waterway as leverage is not without risk for the Islamic republic.
  • "As long as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was in power, the Islamic Republic at times sent mixed signals about its nuclear program and threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, but stopped short of both," said Ali Alfoneh, senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute and author of "Political Succession in the Islamic Republic of Iran".
Iran is banking on the Strait of Hormuz as its main card in any peace negotiations with the United States, but using the waterway as leverage is not without risk for the Islamic republic.
Iran had for decades talked up the threat of blocking the strait, which is a critical chokepoint for global energy supplies.
With the US and Israel launching a surprise war on Iran on February 28 and killing supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Tehran finally made good on those threats and brought the vital waterway to a standstill.
Since then, the United States has imposed its own blockade, bringing a halt to shipments of Iranian oil that had been spared from the closure. 
The situation has caused economic turmoil worldwide.
European politicians fear spiking inflation, food shortages and flight cancellations as jet fuel runs out.
In much of Asia, home to the biggest buyers of Middle East oil and gas, energy prices have spiked while poorer nations have been outbid for scarce supplies leading to shortages. In Sri Lanka, energy prices have increased 40 percent.
The loss of vital fertiliser supplies, of which the Gulf is a major producer, is also expected to send food prices soaring in the developing world 

'Not going to leave'

While causing global economic pain gives Iran negotiating leverage, it can't escape the blowback entirely, with the US blockade halting oil exports worth tens of millions of dollars each day.
With the two-week ceasefire in the war due to run out this week, renewed conflict over the strait would also rattle a leadership trying to find its feet under new supreme leader, Khamenei's son Mojtaba, who has yet to appear in public.  
"The Strait is under the control of the Islamic republic," said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the veteran of the Revolutionary Guards now serving as Iranian parliament speaker and seen as the chief negotiator in talks with the US.
"When they wanted to send minesweepers to clear mines, we stood our ground, we confronted them. We said these are ceasefire violations," he said in remarks broadcast by Iranian television.
"We are here (in the Strait of Hormuz), we are not going to leave," he added.

'Who will blink first'

The blockade of Hormuz represented a switch in strategy for the Islamic republic, which had long brandished the threat without following through. 
After decades seeking to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon -- an ambition the Islamic republic insists it does not have -- as well as battling pro-Tehran proxies, the West now faces a new and potentially long-lasting problem.
"As long as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was in power, the Islamic Republic at times sent mixed signals about its nuclear program and threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, but stopped short of both," said Ali Alfoneh, senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute and author of "Political Succession in the Islamic Republic of Iran".
"With Khamenei gone and the regime in an existential struggle, that restraint no longer holds," he said, adding that "Iran's nuclear doctrine may also be under revision".
But he warned that the US counter-blockade on Iranian shipping in Gulf ports can also hurt the Islamic republic by cutting off its oil revenue at a time of intense economic vulnerability.
"The conflict is now a contest of endurance... Who will blink first?"
In his first major written statement since taking office, Mojtaba Khamenei on March 12 called for the use of "the lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz".
With possible new talks between Iran and the US in the coming days, Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said on Monday that "security of the Strait of Hormuz is not free".
"The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or the risk of significant costs for everyone."
Analysts at the International Crisis Group think tank said Iran's strategy for Hormuz was to signal it was open to diplomacy "but only on terms that show it has not suffered strategic defeat".
But with the US naval blockade seeking to "override Iranian control instead of negotiating over it" the strait has turned from a "bargaining chip into a flashpoint for potential military escalation". 
sjw/dcp

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

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

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.
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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.
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