Pope Leo visits Cameroon with message of peace amid attacks from Trump
US President Donald Trump has lashed out at pope over calls for peace and criticism of US war on Iran.
Frank Gardner: What is China’s role in the Iran war?
BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner explains how the world's second-largest economy fits into the Gulf conflict.
Israeli triple-tap strike kills three paramedics in Lebanon, officials say
Lebanon's government condemns as a "flagrant crime" the killing of the paramedics, one of whom featured in a BBC report.
How the Iran War Confirmed, Contradicted, and Complicated U.S. Policy – Council on Foreign Relations
- How the Iran War Confirmed, Contradicted, and Complicated U.S. Policy Council on Foreign Relations
- Done and Dusted? Trump’s Portrayal of the War in Iran Collides With Reality. The New York Times
- Seven Myths About the Iran War Tablet Magazine
- Trump is using his tariff playbook against Iran. It’s not working CNN
- Tactical Success, Strategic Failure? Washington Walks the Path to Defeat in Iran War on the Rocks
Xi hails China-Russia ties, signals bigger role in Iran war – DW.com
- Xi hails China-Russia ties, signals bigger role in Iran war DW.com
- Russia offers China energy lifeline as the Iran war strangles global supply CNBC
- Xi assures Russia of China's friendship as ties grow with other nations Reuters
- Top Russian and Chinese envoys meet in Beijing to discuss Iran, Ukraine and Taiwan South China Morning Post
- FM Lavrov Pledges Energy Support to China After Meeting With Xi The Moscow Times
Iran’s military forces combine state-of-the-art drones and hackers with out-of-date conventional weapons – The Conversation
- Iran’s military forces combine state-of-the-art drones and hackers with out-of-date conventional weapons The Conversation
- The US and Iran are using new weapons in the war. Here’s what to know. Breaking Defense
- See the Arsenal of Drones and Missiles Iran Used to Attack Its Neighbors Business Insider
- Iran’s Missile-Drone Campaign and Its Implications for the United States’ Deterrence Global Security Review
- Down but not out? How Iran is combining firepower with cyber warfare Deccan Herald
Trump needs a better Iran deal than Obama’s – but faces major hurdles
US president will need to show heavy costs of war were worthwhile while Iran must choose between instant and delayed gratification
If talks between Iran and the US reconvene within the next few days in Islamabad, Donald Trump will have two major political hurdles to overcome – first showing that any deal he secures is better than the one signed by Barack Obama in 2015 and from which he withdraw in 2018, and secondly proving the deal is more favourable than the one on offer in Geneva in February before he launched his war.
Otherwise he will have inflicted massive damage on the world economy when alternatives were available that were less costly in blood and treasure. He will also have to show that Iran has made no permanent gain by taking control of shipping passing through the strait of Hormuz. These are the yardsticks, or tests, around which his negotiating team will be keeping an anxious eye.
Continue reading...SantaCon organiser charged with stealing $1m from charity pub crawl
Prosecutors say Stefan Pildes spent hundreds of thousands of $2.7m raised for charity on personal expenses.
More than £1bn pledged for Sudan as humanitarian crisis deepens
Donors exceed funding target at Berlin conference but prospects for ceasefire remain distant
More than £1bn (€1.15bn) has been pledged for war-ravaged Sudan at a conference in Berlin, eclipsing the funding target organisers had set to help mitigate the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
The financial commitments made on Wednesday will also help offset a chronic humanitarian funding shortfall in a country devastated by three years of conflict, where two-thirds of its population – 34m people – require assistance.
Continue reading...Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti facing ‘escalating abuse’ in Israeli jails
‘Palestine’s Mandela’ suffers three recent attacks including assault where prison guards set a dog on him, lawyer says
The jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti is at immediate risk in Israeli jails, where he has been attacked three times in as many weeks, including in one assault last month where prison guards set a dog on the 66-year-old, his lawyer has said.
Barghouti is often called Palestine’s Nelson Mandela. He is respected across otherwise feuding Palestinian factions, has broad popular support across occupied Palestine, repeatedly engaged with Israeli officials before his detention and long backed a two-state solution.
Continue reading...Hungary’s new leader has vowed to wean his country off Russian energy. It will be a painful transition. – CBS News
- Hungary's new leader has vowed to wean his country off Russian energy. It will be a painful transition. CBS News
- Ukraine war briefing: Hungary’s new leader says he would ask Putin to end the killing in Ukraine The Guardian
- Hungary May No Longer Be Putin’s Ally, but It Can’t Afford a Full Break The New York Times
- Magyar calls on Orbán to lift veto on Ukraine loan before his exit Euronews.com
- Hungary's Magyar will talk to MOL leadership, focus on fuel supplies Reuters
Hamas refuses to give up weapons, demands Board of Peace change Gaza ceasefire plan – The Jerusalem Post
- Hamas refuses to give up weapons, demands Board of Peace change Gaza ceasefire plan The Jerusalem Post
- US and Hamas hold first direct talks since Gaza truce as ceasefire process stalls CNN
- Hamas rejects Gaza disarmament plan, Palestinian official says BBC
- US officials join direct talks with Hamas in Cairo, per ‘CNN’ JNS.org
- Facing a Tuesday Deadline, Hamas Still Opposes Board of Peace's Disarmament Plan Haaretz
Peace activist, 91, walks across Ireland in protest against US military stopovers
Lelia Doolan, who finished 220km trek at parliament gates, says use of Shannon airport violates Irish neutrality
A 91-year-old peace activist has crossed Ireland on foot and arrived in Dublin to petition the government to bar US military flights.
Lelia Doolan completed a two-week, 220km (138 mile) trek on Wednesday, ending at the gates of parliament accompanied by throngs of supporters.
Continue reading...Prominent Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti assaulted three times in a month, family says
The Israeli Prison Service says the allegation that Barghouti was subjected to physical violence by prison guards are "false and baseless".
Israeli settlers block Palestinian kids’ path to school with tear gas and barbed wire – AP News
- Israeli settlers block Palestinian kids’ path to school with tear gas and barbed wire AP News
- Settlers block Palestinian pupils' path to West Bank school with barbed wire Reuters
- Israeli forces fire teargas at schoolchildren holding West Bank sit-in The Guardian
- Israeli settlers block Palestinian students' path to West Bank school with barbed wire The Jerusalem Post
- Israeli Soldiers Tear-Gas Palestinian Children After Settlers Block Access to School Democracy Now!
Chinese national given one year in prison for smuggling ants out of Kenya
Zhang Kequn was arrested in March while trying to travel to China with more than 2,000 live ants.
Putin Demands Answers as Russia’s Economy Undershoots Expectations – The Moscow Times
- Putin Demands Answers as Russia’s Economy Undershoots Expectations The Moscow Times
- Russia's Putin scolds top officials for economic contraction Reuters
- Putin Demands Officials Explain Why Russian Economy Is Slowing Bloomberg.com
- Meeting on economic issues Президент России
- Russia spends $130 billion to circumvent sanctions over four years of war – intelligence Ukrinform - Ukrainian National News Agency
Starmer says he’s ‘not going to yield’ to pressure from Trump on Iran war
It follows a warning from the US president that America's trade deal with the UK "can always be changed".
Suspicion surrounds death of US influencer Ashly Robinson in Zanzibar
Lifestyle influencer died while on vacation with boyfriend, who local officials say has since had his passport ‘withheld’
Ashly Robinson, a US lifestyle influencer, died last week while on vacation in the Tanzanian islands of Zanzibar with her boyfriend, Joe McCann. Robinson’s death on 9 April, just days after her birthday and a marriage proposal from McCann, has sparked suspicion on social media, with users doubtful of the current narrative surrounding her death.
No arrests have been made, and police previously said that McCann was not suspected of wrongdoing. But officials in Zanzibar released a statement on Tuesday saying that McCann’s passport has been “withheld”.
Continue reading...Vietnam’s new leader meets China’s Xi on his first overseas trip – AP News
- Vietnam’s new leader meets China’s Xi on his first overseas trip AP News
- Xi Courts Vietnam With His Authoritarian Vision of Security The New York Times
- China's Xi calls for strategic clarity, political security with Vietnam Reuters
- Xi tells Vietnamese counterpart they should ‘jointly oppose unilateralism’ South China Morning Post
- How cultural exchanges foster the China-Vietnam friendship news.cgtn.com