Category Archives: World News

Africa particularly vulnerable as Iran conflict disrupts supply chains, say experts

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Food production in many African countries depends heavily on fertiliser imported from the Gulf through the strait of Hormuz

Countries in Africa, where farmers depend heavily on imported fertiliser and a large share of household income goes on food, are particularly vulnerable to supply chain disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East, experts have said.

The conflict has drastically disrupted trade through the strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane not just for oil and gas but also for fertiliser, which is produced in vast quantities in the Gulf.

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Nicolas Sarkozy back in court for fresh trial over alleged Libya funding

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Ex-French president, who was jailed last year for criminal conspiracy, to be tried at Paris appeal court on four counts

Nicolas Sarkozy appeared at the Paris court of appeal to face a fresh trial over allegations he conspired to receive illegal election campaign funding from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The former rightwing French president, who was in office between 2007 and 2012, denies any wrongdoing.

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Middle East crisis live: Trump increases pressure on allies over strait of Hormuz; Israel says it still has ‘thousands of targets’ in Iran

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Trump warns Nato faces ‘very bad’ future if US allies fail to assist in opening the vital oil route; Israel says thousands of targets in Iran remain – follow it live

Continued from previous post:

Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has said she has no immediate plans to send her country’s maritime self-defence forces to help protect tanker traffic in the strait of Homuz.

We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done ⁠within the legal framework.

I would like to ⁠engage in solid discussions based on Japan’s views and position regarding the need for early de-escalation.

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Trump claims he has ‘absolute right’ to impose new tariffs after supreme court blow

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US supreme court has ‘ransacked’ the country, president argues, in wake of its ruling against his trade agenda

Donald Trump has claimed he has “the absolute right” to impose new tariffs after the US supreme court ruled many of the import duties he imposed last year were illegal.

The president attacked the court in a late night broadside on Sunday, accusing it of having “unnecessarily RANSACKED” the US – and failing to show him sufficient loyalty.

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Barbra Streisand pays tribute to Robert Redford at the Oscars: ‘He blazed his own trail’

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The actor and singer remembered her co-star in 1973’s The Way We Were, who died in September

Barbra Streisand has paid tribute to her friend and former co-star Robert Redford at the 98th Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

The actor and singer, 83, sang a portion of the title song from their 1973 romantic drama The Way We Were, directed by Sydney Pollack, after remembering the pair’s respect and affection for one another.

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First-round of French local elections sees strong showing for National Rally and LFI

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Far-right and radical left parties likely to increase their local presence in advance of next year’s presidential race

The first-round of the French municipal elections have seen a strong showing for Marine Le Pen’s far-right the National Rally (RN), as well as for Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s radical left, with both parties likely to increase their local presence ahead of next year’s French presidential race.

The French local elections, which now go to a final round runoff on 22 March, are seen as a crucial test of the political temperature before next year’s presidential election. Emmanuel Macron’s two terms in office come to an end in spring 2027 and there is uncertainty about who will next lead the EU’s second-largest economy.

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Initiative may be slipping away from US and Israel as Middle East crisis deepens

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There is little sign of imminent regime change in Iran as its blockade of strait of Hormuz shocks global economy

Few doubt that in the first days of the new war in the Middle East, the initiative belonged to the US and its ally Israel. Now it seems less sure, however.

Mohsen Rezaee, a senior officer in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, on Sunday said “the end of the war is in our hands” and called for the withdrawal of Washington’s forces from the Gulf and compensation for all damage caused by the assault.

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Pakistan targets militant hideouts in Afghanistan as conflict continues

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Afghan government reports zero casualties and accuses neighbouring country of wanting to ‘fuel the fire of war’

Pakistan has targeted militant hideouts in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province overnight, as the fighting that erupted between the two neighbours late last month showed no signs of abating.

The cross-border attacks, which have included Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, are the deadliest yet between the countries. Islamabad has referred to the conflict as an “open war”, adding to concerns about regional stability as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran engulfs the Middle East and beyond.

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Cory Booker calls both parties ‘feckless’ for ceding war powers to Trump

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Democrat says Congress ‘doing nothing’ may embolden president to attack countries such as Cuba and North Korea

Democratic US senator Cory Booker has criticized both his own political party as well as its Republican counterpart for being “feckless” in ceding congressional war powers to Donald Trump, saying that their decision could embolden the president to unilaterally attack Cuba, North Korea and other countries.

“I’m going to be one of those Democrats [who] say I think both parties have been feckless in allowing the growth of the power of the presidency,” Booker said on Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.

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US not ready to seek deal to end war with Iran, Donald Trump says

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Tehran wants ceasefire but terms ‘not good enough yet’, US president claims, as both sides launch new waves of strikes

Donald Trump has warned he is not ready to seek a deal to end the US-Israeli offensive against Iran, saying that though he thought Tehran was keen to negotiate a ceasefire, the US would fight on for better terms.

Trump’s comments came as Iran launched fresh missile and drone attacks on countries in the Gulf and on Israel, and Israeli and US warplanes launched new waves of strikes on Iran.

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France votes in local elections seen as crucial indicator for presidential poll

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Ballots in 35,000 villages, towns and cities will be closely watched for signals about party strategies and alliances

France has begun voting in the first round of municipal elections, seen as crucial a test of the political temperature before next year’s presidential election.

The vote for mayors and councillors in 35,000 villages, towns and cities across France is focused on local issues including security, housing and refuse collection and is very different from national elections.

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Trapezes and artists: world’s oldest circus to be restored to original glory in Paris

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Alexandre Dumas was wowed by it and Burt Lancaster starred there. Now the Cirque d’Hiver has a new spectacle

For more than 170 years the Cirque d’Hiver, the world’s oldest circus, has been the scene of many a breathtaking act.

In 1859, gymnast Jules Léotard – whose name would become synonymous with the one-piece – captivated audiences by launching himself from one swinging trapeze to another without a safety net for the first time in public.

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F1 cancels Bahrain and Saudi Arabia GPs because of Middle East war

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  • Bahrain circuit only 20 miles from targeted US base

  • Races unlikely to be replaced because of logistics

Formula One has cancelled the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia grands prix because of the war in the Middle East.

The races were due to take place on 12 April in Bahrain and 19 April in Saudi Arabia but the sport was approaching the point at which a decision on cancellation needed to be made to prevent more freight being sent to Bahrain.

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Five arrested in Cuba after protest at local Communist party office

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Rare action began peacefully but ‘degenerated into vandalism’ according to state-run newspaper

Five people have been arrested in Cuba for acts of “vandalism” after a small group of protesters broke into a provincial office of the Cuban Communist party and set fire to computers and furniture.

The incident, which also affected a pharmacy and another shop, took place in the town of Moron, a little more than 300 miles (500km) east of Havana.

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Germany misses climate targets as emissions barely fall in 2025

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Greenhouse gases dropped just 0.1% last year as environment minister criticises lack of improvement

Greenhouse gas emissions in Germany have again missed targets set by the Climate Protection Act and barely fell at all in 2025.

Emissions decreased by just 0.1% last year compared to the previous year, according to data from the German Environment Agency.

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‘Deliberate attack’: explosion damages Jewish school in Amsterdam

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Mayor condemns ‘cowardly act’ on south side of Amsterdam which caused limited damage and no reported injuries

An explosion has damaged a Jewish school in Amsterdam in what the city’s mayor described as “a deliberate attack against the Jewish community”.

The explosion early on Saturday in a residential neighbourhood on the south side of the city caused limited damage, the mayor, Femke Halsema, said in a press release, as police and firefighters arrived at the scene quickly.

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‘Could be the making of him’: Starmer’s allies praise stance on Trump and Iran

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Refusal to kowtow to US president has won public backing – and left Badenoch and Farage playing catch-up

It is not often that Keir Starmer’s allies believe he has Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch on the run – but on Iran, they think he is on the right side of history and public opinion.

“It could be the making of him,” said Emily Thornberry, the Labour chair of the foreign affairs committee, who was first out of the blocks to say she thought Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran were illegal. “You’ve not had a British prime minister say no to an American president since Vietnam. This is a big deal.”

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The escalation trap: how the Iran war could become more costly and complex

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Iran is trying to create wedges between Gulf states and the US, but Trump is very comfortable on the ‘escalatory ladder’

• Middle East crisis – live updates

In its current phase, the Israeli-US war against Iran and its proxies has become a proving ground for two competing concepts of military escalation, each of which threatens to become a trap.

On one side, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu have failed thus far in their ill-defined and shifting strategic aims. Despite killing Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and other key leaders in the opening salvo of the campaign, the clerical regime remains and Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium is unsecured. Airstrikes are intensifying and hitting a greater number of targets.

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Iran threatens to escalate war after Trump says ‘many countries’ will send warships to strait of Hormuz

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US president calls on China, France, Japan and the UK to send vessels after US strikes Kharg Island oil facilities

Iran threatened on Saturday to further escalate the war raging in the Middle East by targeting any facility in the region with US ties, after Donald Trump predicted “many countries” would send warships to support a US bid to reopen by force the strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway closed to virtually all maritime traffic by Tehran since the beginning of the war.

Iran has responded to the joint US-Israeli offensive, which is entering its third week, with daily attacks on oil and other infrastructure around the Gulf region, as well as against Israel.

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Meta reportedly plans sweeping layoffs as AI costs increase

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Sources tell Reuters layoffs could affect 20% or more of company as plans reflect broader tensions within big tech

Meta is planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as Meta seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers.

No date has been set for the cuts and the magnitude has not been finalized, the people said.

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