Category: World

Outside a morgue in south-eastern Turkey about a dozen men rushed to carry a coffin, but it was light – just the weight of a 10-year boy.

His father followed behind, propped up by relatives on both sides but weighed down by grief. “Oh, my martyred child,” he wailed, “oh my darling.”

His son was one of eight children shot dead on Wednesday in the city of Kahramanmaras by a fellow student,14, who also killed a teacher. This city, traditionally famous for its ice cream, now has a new and terrible distinction – it is the location of Turkey’s first deadly mass school shooting.

Relatives, neighbours and emergency services gathered around as coffins emerged one by one each draped in the Turkish flag. There was an angry yell from one woman towards a line of waiting police. “Too late, too late,” she chided. “You didn’t save the children.” Another woman shouted that the attacker should be hung in the main square, but he is already dead. He was killed at the scene.

Outside the main mosque, a mother wept, leaning forward to stroke the coffin of her daughter, Zeynep. From the family home, beside the Ayser Calik Secondary School, she heard the shots that killed her 10-year-old – shots that have reverberated around Turkey.

Relatives told us Zeynep was clever and respectful.

“She became an angel, and she flew away,” said Mahmut, her uncle, his voice breaking. “My only wish is to have more security at the schools, so this does not happen again. This pain landed on us. I do not want it to fall on anyone else.”

The attack came just one day after a former student roamed the corridors of another school in the same region, shooting at will. He wounded 16 but killed only himself.

“There have been two attacks, in a very short period, both in cities with lower incomes,” says Prof Asli Carkoglu, an expert in teen psychology. “These things do have a way of spreading.”

She is worried the deadly shooting here could become “an example for young minds that are frustrated enough”.

The attack was a tragedy but “not a surprise” to people like her who work with young adults and adolescents, she said.

“There have been stabbings, beatings and attempted suicides in the school system,” she told the BBC. “The guns weren’t there before, but the violence was.”

As the victims of the attack were being lowered into their graves, more details were emerging about the killer. The authorities here say he referred on social media to an American gunman, Elliot Rodgers, who killed six students in California in 2014. They also say an entry on his computer, dated 11 April, indicated there would be a major attack “in the near future”.

He did not have to go far to get weapons – just to the bedroom of his father, a former police officer who is himself now under arrest. He has made a statement to the authorities, according to reports in the local media, painting a picture of a bright but troubled teenager who spent a lot of time playing war games on his computer and was attending a psychologist.

While mass school shootings are a familiar horror for the US, this is a new trauma for Turkey. The authorities want to calm the public and control the narrative.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyv21q9y1go

Europe has “maybe six weeks of jet fuel left”, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned.

Stocks would reach a tipping point in June if Europe was unable to replace at least half of its imports from the Middle East, the organisation said in a report this week.

The Strait of Hormuz, a key route for jet fuel out of the Gulf, has been effectively closed by Iran for more than six weeks in response to US and Israeli attacks, sending the price rocketing and prompting fears of shortages.

IEA executive director Fatih Birol told AP there could soon be flight cancellations if supplies remained blocked.

In its monthly oil market report, the IEA- which advises 32 member countries on energy supply and security – said exports from the Gulf region were the largest source of jet fuel to the global market.

Refineries in other major exporting countries, such as Korea, India and China were themselves highly dependent on crude oil imports from the Middle East.

As a result, the crisis “has thrown a proverbial wrench into the inner workings of the aviation fuel markets”, it said.

A spokesperson for the UK government told the BBC that it was working with fuel suppliers and airlines to “ensure people keep moving and businesses are supported”.

“UK airlines are clear that they are currently not seeing disruption to supply,” they said.

Airlines UK, which represents the industry, said while it was not seeing disruption to UK jet fuel supply, it was talking to the government about “crucial measures” that would be needed to support the aviation industry in the event of fuel disruption “including reducing regulatory burdens, to protect consumers, trade, and the UK’s competitiveness”.

In the past, Europe has relied on the Middle East for about 75% of its jet fuel imports, the IEA noted.

At the moment, European countries are scrambling to replace supplies from the Gulf with imports from elsewhere. Analysts say this is coming from the US and Nigeria.

The IEA said there had been a rapid acceleration in US jet fuel exports in recent weeks.

However, it warned in its report that even if these shipments were all destined for Europe, they would only replace a little over half of the lost supplies.

Analysing different scenarios, it said that if Europe was unable to replace more than 50% of its Middle Eastern imports, “physical shortages may emerge at select airports, resulting in flight cancellations, and demand destruction”.

If three-quarters of supplies could be replaced, the same situation could still arise, but not until August.

“Consequently, for now, it would appear that European markets will need to work harder to attract further replacement cargoes from elsewhere if sufficient inventory is to be maintained over the summer months,” it said.

Amaar Khan, head of European jet fuel pricing at Argus Media, believes that even if supplies from the Gulf resume in the near future, there could still be shortages in the run-up to the summer travel peak.

“It’s not a certainty, but still, it’s looking more and more likely that there will be a shortage of some extent in some areas of Europe.

“Of course, somewhere like Heathrow is probably going to be prioritized over other smaller airports, or smaller demand hubs. But yes, even if that supply does come on, it will take five to six weeks,” he said.

Many airlines around the world have had to take emergency measures to counter the rising cost of fuel, which typically makes up 20-40% of their operating costs.

The benchmark European jet fuel price hit an all-time high of $1,838 (£1,387) per tonne at the start of April, compared with $831 before the war began.

Earlier this week, the European Commission said there was “no evidence of fuel shortages” in the European Union, but acknowledged there could be supply issues “in the near future”.

A spokesperson told a press briefing crude oil supplies to EU refineries were “stable with no need for additional stock releases at present”.

The Commission said oil and gas coordination groups were meeting weekly, and energy measures would be announced by the Commission president next week.

Last week the trade body for European airports, the Airports Council International, wrote to the Commission warning the continent could see jet fuel shortages if the Strait of Hormuz does not reopen in the next three weeks.

Industry group Airlines for Europe has called on the EU to clarify its passenger compensation rules to ensure that fuel shortages or airspace closures that result from the conflict are treated as “extraordinary circumstances”.

This would mean that when they result in cancellations, airlines do not have to make significant compensation payments.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czjw2kz0l22o

 

The four astronauts of Artemis II say their mission gave the world a sense of hope and unity at a time when both feel in short supply.

At their first Nasa news conference since returning last Friday, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen said they left as friends and came back as something closer – bound by an experience that no earthly language can fully contain.

More than the technical milestones, the mission reminded them of what being human actually means: laughter, joy, tears, and an instinct toward one another that transcends borders.

And their message was clear: Landing on the Moon is not the distant dream it once seemed.

“We wanted to go out and try to do something that would bring the world together, to unite the world,” Wiseman told reporters at Nasa’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“We were certainly hooked on this mission, but when we came home, we were shocked at the global outpouring of support, of pride, of ownership of this mission… we want to thank the world. Thank you for tuning in.”

He singled out the Orion spacecraft – named Integrity – and the Space Launch System as a symbol of what international partnership can still produce.

“Thank you to every single person that had a hand in building that machine,” he said, “because it was a magnificent machine.”

Artemis II carried its crew further from Earth than any humans have ever gone, swinging around the far side of the Moon in just over nine days. Victor Glover became the first black astronaut to reach deep space; Christina Koch the first woman; Jeremy Hansen the first Canadian.

For Koch, the scale of what they had done only became clear through others’ eyes when her husband told her on a video call that the mission had cut through divisions and united people. She found herself undone.

“When my husband looked me in the eye on that video call and said, ‘No, really, you’ve made a difference’,” she told reporters, “it brought tears to my eyes, and I said, that’s all we ever wanted.”

Glover talked about it being an experience shared by the entire world.

“I think something that we all feel and we try to share is how much we want to reflect back to you all how we did this, not we as a crew, we as countries and as humans did this,” he said.

Thinking about that, he said, brought to mind “the picture of the Earth as we started to go farther” as they traveled close to the moon and how they talked about “looking at you and how beautiful Earth is”.

Hansen found that returning to Earth had deepened his faith in people.

“We don’t always do great things. We’re not always in our integrity, but our default is to be good and to be good to one another,” he said. “What I’ve seen has brought me more joy, but more hope for our future.”

Some experiences cannot be processed through rational thought. Wiseman described the moment the Sun passed behind the Moon – an eclipse seen from 250,000 miles away – as something that overwhelmed the capacity of the human mind.

Back on the recovery ship, he sought out the chaplain, needing a way to express what he had experienced that science had not given him.

“I’m not really a religious person,” he said, “but there was just no other avenue for me to explain anything or to experience anything. So I asked for the chaplain on the Navy ship… and I broke down in tears.

“I don’t think humanity has evolved to the point of being able to comprehend what we’re looking at right now, because it was otherworldly.”

Beyond the emotional weight, there was sheer visual wonder. Hansen found himself transfixed by the depth of space, as though seeing it for the first time. “We just saw so many amazing things,” he said. “I kept seeing this depth to the galaxy that I just had never experienced before.”

He described feeling “infinitesimally small, but yet this very powerful feeling as a human being, like as a group.”

As the news conference wore on, the room filled with laughter. Koch described being so conditioned by weightlessness that back on Earth she had dropped a shirt expecting it to float – and was startled when it fell.

“I put a shirt in the air and it went – it actually surprised me,” she said.

Not everything ran smoothly. The crew were candid about a persistent blockage in the toilet’s primary vent line, saying it got “clogged up”.

The Orion capsule, though, impressed its crew profoundly. And Wiseman, reflecting on how close they had come to the lunar surface, made a remark that will resonate in every Nasa planning room.

“If we had a first flight lander on board that thing,” he said, “I know at least three of my crewmates would have been in it, trying to land on the Moon.”

He chose his next words carefully, perhaps leaving out the word “giant” as a nod to the first words spoken on the lunar surface.

“It is not the leap I thought it was,” he said. “Once we’re around the Moon, in the vacuum of space, we’ve got a vehicle that’s handling great. If you had given us two keys to the lander, we would have taken it down and landed on that Moon.”

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8jpz9rx2yo

“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain,” said Pope Leo.

Pope Leo blasted leaders who spend billions on wars and said the world was “being ravaged by a handful of tyrants”, in unusually forceful remarks in Cameroon on Thursday (Apr 16), days after US President Donald Trump attacked him on social media.

Leo, the first American pope, also decried leaders who used religious language to justify wars and urged a “decisive change of course” in a meeting in the biggest city in Cameroon’s anglophone regions, where a simmering conflict going back nearly a decade has left thousands dead.

“The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild,” the pontiff said.

“They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found.”

“A WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN”

Trump’s attacks on Leo, first launched on the eve of the pope’s ambitious four-country tour of Africa and repeated late Tuesday, have caused dismay in Africa, where more than a fifth of the world’s Catholics live.

Leo, who kept a relatively low profile for most of his first year as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church, has emerged as an outspoken critic of the war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide, said on Thursday that she stood with the pope in his “courageous call for a kingdom of peace”.

Speaking in the anglophone city of Bamenda, the pontiff also sharply criticised leaders who invoked religious themes to justify wars.

“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” he said.

“It is a world turned upside down, an exploitation of God’s creation that must be denounced and rejected by every honest conscience.”

The pope made similar remarks last month, saying God rejected prayers from leaders with “hands full of blood”, in comments widely interpreted as aimed at US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has invoked Christian language to justify the Iran war.

Trump began his criticism of Leo on Sunday, when he called the pope “weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy” in a post on Truth Social.

The US president attacked Leo again on social media late on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Trump posted an image of Jesus embracing Trump, after an earlier image he posted that portrayed him as a Jesus-like figure, prompting widespread criticism.

Leo told Reuters on Monday that he would not stop speaking out about the Iran war and has avoided responding to Trump directly since then.

THREE-DAY CEASEFIRE DURING VISIT

After arriving in the Cameroon capital Yaounde on Wednesday, Leo urged the government of the Central African nation – led by President Paul Biya, at 93 the world’s oldest ruler – to root out corruption and resist “the whims of the rich and powerful”.

During a Mass at the airport in Bamenda on Thursday, attended by around 20,000 people, the pope criticised foreigners who exploited Africa’s wealth, saying they were contributing to widespread poverty and underdevelopment.

“The time has come, today and not tomorrow, now and not in the future, to restore the mosaic of unity by bringing together the diversity and riches of the country and the continent,” he said.

Leo’s trip on Thursday to Bamenda has stirred faint hope that steps might be taken to resolve the conflict there, rooted in the country’s complex colonial and post-colonial history.

Cameroon, a former German ​colony, was partitioned by Britain and France after World War One. The French part won independence in 1960 and was joined a year later by the smaller English-speaking British area to the west.

More than 6,500 people have been killed and more than half ‌a million displaced in fighting between government forces and anglophone separatist groups, ⁠according to the International Crisis Group.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/pope-leo-decries-tyrants-cameroon-6061441

Local reports often attribute the eliminations to “unidentified gunmen” or mysterious circumstances.

Amir Hamza, a founding member of Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has been shot by unknown gunmen in Lahore. Hamza suffered bullet injuries in an attack by motorcycle-borne unidentified gunmen on Thursday, police said. He is currently being treated in a hospital.

In the past two to three years, a significant number of India-designated “most-wanted” terrorists and high-ranking commanders of groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) have been eliminated in Pakistan or Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The eliminations have often been attributed by local reports to “unidentified gunmen” or mysterious circumstances.

Terrorists Killed By “Unknown Gunmen”

Just last month, Muhammad Tahir Anwar died in Pakistan, reportedly under mysterious circumstances. He was Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar’s elder brother. He played a key role within Jaish-e-Mohammed and was actively involved in the terror outfit’s operations.

In March last year, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist, Abu Qatal or Qatal Sindhi, was also killed by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan’s Jhelum Sindh. He was a close aide to the mastermind behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Hafiz Saeed. He was allegedly the mastermind behind the Reasi attack in 2024 in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed nine people and injured 33 others.

The pattern of such killings became evident in 2023, following the elimination of seven terrorists over a span of seven months.

One of the seven eliminations of these was Paramjit Singh Panjwar, chief of the Khalistan Commando Force, who had long been involved in arms smuggling, drug trafficking, and extremist operations. On May 6, 2023, while taking a routine walk in Lahore’s Johar Town, two motorcycle-borne assailants approached and shot him dead.

“Unknown men” killed Mufti Qaiser Farooq, another close associate of Hafiz Saeed, in Karachi. The 30-year-old was shot near a religious institution in the Samanabad area in October 2023. Farooq suffered bullet wounds in the back and died during treatment in a hospital.

Shahid Latif, the alleged mastermind of the 2016 Pathankot terror attack, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan’s Sialkot in October 2023. The 54-year-old was on the list of India’s ‘most-wanted terrorists’.

Khwaja Shahid, also known as Mia Mujahid, a high-ranking commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, was found beheaded near the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in November 2023. He was reportedly kidnapped by unidentified gunmen from his home in the Neelum Valley a few days before his death. His decapitated body showed signs of severe torture.

Akram Khan Ghazi, a top commander of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, was shot dead in November 2023 by unidentified attackers on motorcycles. Ghazi was a key figure in the LeT recruitment cell and was known for his anti-India speeches and radicalising youth for infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/from-karachi-to-lahore-a-kill-trail-of-terrorists-in-pakistan-by-unknown-gunmen-11367052?pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories

The response comes after Trump said the United States and Iran were close to reaching a deal following nearly six weeks of conflict.

Iran has pushed back against US President Donald Trump’s claim that Tehran has agreed to hand over its stockpile of enriched uranium, with sources saying no such arrangement has been negotiated so far.

A source close to Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said “no form of nuclear material transfer to America has been negotiated,” directly contradicting Trump’s assertion.

Another Iranian source rejected the claim outright, calling it “another lie,” and added that “no major progress has been made” in the ongoing talks. The source further said that any continuation of negotiations would depend on “compliance with all of Iran’s conditions.”

Trump Claimed Breakthrough

The response comes after Trump said the United States and Iran were close to reaching a deal following nearly six weeks of conflict. Speaking to reporters at the White House, he claimed Tehran had agreed to transfer its enriched uranium stockpile.

“They’ve agreed to give us back the nuclear dust,” Trump said, referring to enriched uranium that Washington believes could be used in nuclear weapons development. He added that there was a “very good chance” of a deal being finalised.

Trump also indicated that he could travel to Islamabad if an agreement is signed there, suggesting that diplomatic efforts were nearing a decisive stage.

Focus On Nuclear Restrictions

The US President reiterated that any agreement must ensure Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons under any circumstances. He rejected the idea of a time-bound arrangement, such as a temporary halt on uranium enrichment, and stressed that restrictions must be permanent.

“The big thing we have to do is make sure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, warning that failure to achieve this would lead to significant global consequences. He also claimed that Iran had agreed “very powerfully” to such conditions.

At the same time, Trump said Tehran appeared more flexible in recent negotiations compared to earlier phases, indicating what he described as a shift in Iran’s stance after weeks of military escalation.

Iran Signals No Breakthrough Yet

Despite these claims, Iranian sources indicated that talks remain unresolved and far from a final agreement. They said there has been no substantive progress on key issues, including nuclear material transfers, and suggested that Washington’s statements may be premature.

The sources also emphasised that Iran’s position remains conditional, with any forward movement in negotiations tied to the US meeting specific terms set by Tehran. Details of these conditions have not been made public.

Fragile Diplomatic Phase

The conflicting narratives highlight the fragile nature of ongoing diplomacy between the two countries. While Washington has projected optimism about a potential deal, Tehran’s response suggests that critical differences remain.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/iran-denies-trumps-claim-on-handing-over-enriched-uranium-no-such-deal-ws-l-10038101.html

Trump hails 10 day Israel Lebanon ceasefire, urges Hezbollah to act nicely, says truce follows talks with Netanyahu and Aoun and could lead to broader Middle East peace talks

US President Donald Trump on Friday urged Hezbollah to “act nicely” and support ongoing peace efforts, as a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect amid continued tensions in the region.

“I hope Hezbollah acts nicely and well during this important period of time. It will be an GREAT moment for them if they do. No more killing. Must finally have PEACE!” Trump said, framing the truce as a key opportunity to move towards a broader resolution of the conflict.

Ceasefire Begins Amid Diplomatic Push

The ceasefire, which began at midnight local time in Israel and Lebanon, follows weeks of intense hostilities that have resulted in significant casualties and displacement. The truce is part of a broader diplomatic push led by Washington to de-escalate tensions not just between Israel and Lebanon, but also in the wider Middle East amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran.

Trump said the agreement came after what he described as “excellent” conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. He indicated that both leaders had agreed to pause hostilities as a step towards a possible long-term peace arrangement.

He also signalled that efforts were underway to bring the two leaders together for direct talks, potentially at the White House, marking a significant diplomatic breakthrough after decades of hostility between the two nations.

‘Very Exciting’ Moment, Says Trump

Calling the development “very exciting,” Trump said the ceasefire could pave the way for the first high-level engagement between Israel and Lebanon in decades. He added that Hezbollah was also part of the ceasefire understanding, suggesting that all parties had agreed to temporarily halt attacks.

According to Trump, the current pause in fighting is intended to last for about a week initially, during which there would be no aerial bombardment or military strikes. The aim, he said, is to assess whether conditions are conducive for a more durable peace agreement.

“They’re going to be having a ceasefire, and that will include Hezbollah,” Trump said, adding that “we’re not going to have bombs dropping” during this period.

Fragile Situation On Ground

Despite the ceasefire, the situation on the ground remains fragile. Reports of gunfire in parts of Beirut, particularly in Hezbollah strongholds, surfaced as the truce came into effect, though it was not immediately clear whether this was celebratory or indicative of violations.

The conflict, which began after US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, quickly expanded when Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel in early March. Since then, Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in Lebanon have led to over 2,000 deaths and displaced more than a million people.

Israel’s military said it had carried out strikes on hundreds of Hezbollah targets shortly before the ceasefire began and remains on high alert in case hostilities resume.

Wider Stakes In Region

The ceasefire is also closely linked to ongoing US efforts to negotiate a broader settlement with Iran, which has insisted that any deal must include de-escalation in Lebanon. While Washington and Israel have denied that the Lebanon truce is formally tied to Iran talks, the timing underscores the interconnected nature of the regional conflict.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/hezbollah-must-act-nicely-no-more-killing-trump-on-israel-lebanon-ceasefire-ws-l-10038078.html

Last August, U.S. Navy officials carrying out a test of unmanned vessels realized they had hit a single point of failure: Starlink. A global outage across Elon Musk’s satellite network ​affecting millions of Starlink users had left two dozen unmanned surface vessels bobbing off the California coast, disrupting communications and halting operations for almost an hour.
The incident, which involved drones ‌intended to bolster U.S. military options in a conflict with China, was one of several Navy test disruptions linked to SpaceX’s Starlink that left operators unable to connect with autonomous boats, according to internal Navy documents reviewed by Reuters and a person familiar with the matter.

As SpaceX rockets toward a $2 trillion public offering this summer – expected to be the largest ever – the company has secured its position as the world’s most valuable space company in part by being indispensable to the U.S. government ​with an array of technologies spanning satellite communications to space launches and military AI.
Starlink, in particular, has proved key to crucial programs – from drones to missile tracking – with a low-earth orbit ​constellation of close to 10,000 satellites, a scale that provides the military with a network resilient against potential adversary attacks.
But the Navy’s mishaps with Starlink for ⁠its autonomous drone program, which have not been previously reported, highlight the challenges of the U.S. military’s growing reliance on SpaceX and the risks it brings to the Pentagon.

“If there was no Starlink, the U.S. ​government wouldn’t have access to a global constellation of low earth orbit communications,” said Clayton Swope, a deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The Pentagon did not respond ​to questions about the drone test or SpaceX’s work with the Navy. The Pentagon’s chief information officer, Kirsten Davies, said the “Department leverages multiple, robust, resilient systems for its broad network.”
The Navy and SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment.
Despite facing growing competition from Amazon.com (AMZN.O), which announced an $11.6 billion agreement this week to acquire satellite maker Globalstar, SpaceX remains far ahead in low-earth orbit communications.

Beyond drones, SpaceX has cemented a near-monopoly for space launches and provides satellite communications with Starlink and its ​national security-focused constellation, Starshield, generating billions of dollars for the company. Last month, U.S. Space Force said it had reassigned its upcoming GPS launch, opens new tab to a SpaceX rocket for the fourth time, due to a glitch ​in the Vulcan rocket made by the Boeing (BA.N), and Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), joint venture United Launch Alliance.

WARNINGS ABOUT RELYING ON SPACEX

Democratic lawmakers have warned the Pentagon about the risks of its reliance on a single company led by the world’s ‌richest man to ⁠deliver crucial national security capabilities. More recently, the Defense Department’s disagreements and blacklisting of AI startup Anthropic quickly revealed how an overreliance on one AI vendor could create problems should that vendor be dropped.
Reuters reported last year that Musk unexpectedly switched off Starlink access to Ukrainian troops as they sought to retake territory from Russia, denting allies’ trust in the billionaire.

In Taiwan, SpaceX faced criticism over concerns it was withholding satellite communications to U.S. service members based there, “possibly in breach of SpaceX’s contractual obligations with the U.S. government,” according to a 2024 letter sent by then-U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher to Musk, reported by Forbes at the time. SpaceX disputed the claim ​in a post on X.

Reuters could not determine whether SpaceX ​has since provided Starlink service in Taiwan ⁠to U.S. service members. The Pentagon and SpaceX did not respond to questions about Taiwan.
“As a matter of operational security, we do not comment on or discuss plans, operations capabilities or effects,” an official said in a statement.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/starlink-outage-hit-drone-tests-exposing-pentagons-growing-reliance-spacex-2026-04-16/

The Kremlin took the unusual step of ​publicly acknowledging sharp criticism of the authorities from a celebrity blogger on Thursday, saying work was under ‌way to address a slew of problems identified by social media influencer Viktoria Bonya.
Bonya, who is well known inside Russia for her appearances on reality TV shows and other programmes, has a huge social media following, and a video appeal she made to President Vladimir Putin this week was ​watched more than 20 million times and liked over 1 million times on Instagram.

In her video appeal, Bonya – who ​lives outside Russia – said she supported Putin, but said that officials were not telling him the ⁠truth about the country’s real problems, that the Russian people were suffering, and that they were being squeezed so hard ​by corrupt officials that they might one day erupt.
“You know what the risk is?” she said. “That people will stop being afraid ​and they’re being squeezed into a coiled spring and that one day that coiled spring will shoot out.”

KREMLIN SAYS WORK IS BEING DONE

Among other things, she spoke out against a sweeping crackdown on the internet, social media and messenger apps, accused the authorities of being too slow to respond ​to floods in Dagestan, and said they had mishandled the outbreak this year of a cattle disease in Siberia that led ​to an unpopular culling.

“The people are afraid of you,” she told Putin. “There is a big wall between the people and you,” she said, ‌blaming regional ⁠governors, government officials and lawmakers for not telling Putin the truth about what was going on.
Instagram, like Facebook, is banned in Russia but Russians are able to watch it using virtual private networks.
When asked about Bonya’s public appeal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Of course, we’ve seen it. It’s quite popular.”
“It touches on many topics, on each of which, as you can see – as ​you have seen – work is ​actually being done,” he said.
“But, ⁠to be fair, a great deal of work is being done on them, a large number of people are involved, and none of this has been overlooked,” he added.

BLOGGER SAYS SHE ​IS ACTING FOR RUSSIANS

The idea of Putin as “a good Tsar” misinformed by nefarious officials is ​not a new ⁠one, and Kremlin critics suggested that Bonya’s appeal may have been coordinated with the authorities to let people feel that their problems are being aired and dealt with ahead of parliamentary elections later this year.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/kremlin-acknowledges-criticism-after-blogger-warns-putin-squeezed-russians-could-2026-04-16/

A 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect ​on Thursday and President Donald Trump said the next meeting between the United States and Iran may take place over the weekend, adding to optimism that the Iran war could be nearing an end.
Trump said Iran had offered ‌not to possess nuclear weapons for more than 20 years. Tehran’s nuclear ambitions were a sticking point at talks in Islamabad last weekend.

“We’re going to see what happens. But I think we’re very close to making a deal with Iran,” he told reporters outside the White House.
Hours later at an event in Las Vegas, Nevada, Trump went further, saying the war “should be ending pretty soon.”
The war with Iran, which began on February 28 with a U.S.-Israeli attack, has killed thousands and sent oil prices surging, creating a major political headache for the U.S. president.
If the Lebanon ceasefire clears the way for a broader peace deal with ​Iran, it would be a significant win for the Trump administration, which has struggled so far to reopen the strategically important Strait of Hormuz and block Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon.

Celebratory gunfire rang out across parts of Beirut as the ​clock struck midnight on Thursday, the time the ceasefire was set to go into effect. For around half an hour, the sound of explosions from rockets fired in celebration could also be heard, ⁠witnesses said.
But the pause in hostilities remained fragile.
The Lebanese Army said early on Friday that Israel committed violations of the ceasefire after it took effect, including the intermittent shelling of several southern Lebanese villages.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which had said ​earlier that its forces remained deployed in the area. In a post on X, Arabic-language military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the deployment was in response to what he described as continued Hezbollah militant activity.
Hezbollah released a lengthy statement detailing what it described as its military operations ​against Israel throughout Thursday, which showed that its last attack came at 11:50 p.m. local time, 10 minutes before the ceasefire took effect.

Trump later issued a social media post urging Hezbollah to respect the ceasefire.
“I hope Hezbollah acts nicely and well during this important period of time. It will be an GREAT moment for them if they do. No more killing. Must finally have PEACE!” he said.

FURTHER ISRAEL-LEBANON TALKS PLANNED

Trump said in his earlier remarks to reporters that he thought the U.S. had a chance of a deal with Iran.
“And if that happens, oil goes way down, prices go way down, inflation goes way down, ​and … much more importantly than even that, you won’t have a nuclear holocaust,” he said.

The president said he was not sure a two-week ceasefire agreed with Iran last week would need to be extended beyond next week, adding that Tehran wanted to make a deal.
“We ​have a very good relationship with Iran right now, as hard as it is to believe. And I think it’s a combination of about four weeks of bombing, and a very powerful blockade.”
Conflict between Israel and the Iran-aligned Lebanese group Hezbollah was reignited by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. ‌Hezbollah opened fire ⁠in support of Tehran on March 2, prompting an Israeli offensive in Lebanon 15 months after their last major conflict.
Trump said he had held “excellent conversations” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and planned to invite them both to the White House for “meaningful talks”.
He said later that the White House meeting could take place over the next week or two, and that if an Iran deal was reached and signed in Islamabad, he might travel there for the occasion.
Trump said he had directed U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve lasting peace.
Iran welcomed the ceasefire in Lebanon, saying it was part of an understanding reached with the United States and mediated by Pakistan, Iranian media ​reported, citing a statement by a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

SIGNS OF POSSIBLE ​COMPROMISE ON NUCLEAR ISSUES

Closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through ⁠which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply flows, has caused the worst oil price shock in history and forced the International Monetary Fund to downgrade its outlook for the global economy, warning prolonged conflict could push the world to the brink of recession.
At last weekend’s talks, the U.S. proposed a 20-year suspension of all nuclear activity by Iran – an apparent concession from longstanding demands for a permanent ​ban. Tehran suggested a halt of three to five years, according to people familiar with the proposals.
Washington has pressed for any highly enriched uranium (HEU) to be removed from Iran. Tehran has demanded ​that international sanctions against it be ⁠lifted.
Two Iranian sources said there were signs of a compromise emerging on the HEU stockpile, with Tehran considering shipping part, but not all, of it out of the country, something it had previously ruled out.
A diplomatic source said the key Pakistani mediator, Army chief Asim Munir, arrived in Tehran on Wednesday and had made a breakthrough on “sticky issues”, although Tehran said the fate of its nuclear program had not been resolved. Trump has said the accord would open the Strait of Hormuz.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hopes-middle-east-peace-grow-israel-discusses-lebanon-ceasefire-2026-04-16/

France and Britain will ​chair a meeting on Friday of around 40 countries aimed at signalling to the United States that ‌some of its closest allies are ready to play a role in restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz once conditions allow.
Iran has largely closed the strait to ships other than its own since the start of U.S.-Israeli air strikes on February 28. On ​Monday, Washington imposed a blockade on ships entering or leaving Iranian ports.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called on ​other countries to help enforce the blockade and has criticised NATO allies for not doing so.
Britain, ⁠France and others say joining the blockade would amount to entering the war, but they have said they would ​be willing to help keep the strait open once there is a lasting ceasefire or the conflict ends.
The initiative being discussed ​does not for now include the United States or Iran, though European diplomats said any realistic mission would ultimately need to be coordinated with both. Washington will be briefed on the outcome of the talks.

SAFETY OF STRANDED SEAFARERS

According to a note sent to invited nations, the ​aim of the meeting is to reaffirm full diplomatic support for unfettered freedom of navigation through the Strait of ​Hormuz and the need to respect international law.

The meeting will also address economic challenges facing the shipping industry and the safety of more ‌than ⁠20,000 stranded seafarers and trapped commercial vessels.
It will also outline preparations for the deployment – when conditions are met – of a strictly defensive multinational military mission to ensure freedom of navigation.
A chair’s statement is expected at the end of the meeting to give a more tangible sense of what such a mission could entail, although it is not expected to spell out ​what specific countries might contribute.

RESOURCES ​WILL DEPEND ON SITUATION, ⁠OFFICIAL SAYS

President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will attend the meeting in Paris, while officials from across Europe, ​Asia and the Middle East will join by video conference.

China has been invited, although it ​was not clear ⁠whether it will take part.
Several diplomats said the mission might never materialise if the situation in Hormuz returned to normal.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/countries-discuss-hormuz-mission-when-conflict-ends-2026-04-17/

Explosive Media, a group of pro-Tehran creators with suspected ties to the Iranian government, has gained internet notoriety during the US-Iran war for animation videos that have racked up millions of views.

YouTube has terminated a channel belonging to a pro-Iran group producing viral Lego-themed AI videos that ridicule US President Donald Trump, the Google-owned platform said on Wednesday (Apr 15), sparking online criticism.

Explosive Media, a group of pro-Tehran creators that describes itself as independent but is widely suspected of ties to the Iranian government, has gained internet notoriety during the US-Iran war for animation videos that have racked up millions of views.

“We terminated the channel for violating our spam, deceptive practices and scams policies,” a YouTube spokesman told AFP, without elaborating.

The channel was suspended on Mar 27, he added.

Explosive Media was still posting videos mocking the US war effort on other tech platforms, including the Elon Musk-owned X and Telegram.

Meta-owned Instagram also took down the group’s account, US media reported, but another account under its name was still active on Wednesday.

Meta did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.

Lashing out at YouTube, Explosive Media wrote on X: “Seriously! Are our LEGO-style animations actually violent?”

WIDELY SHARED

YouTube’s suspension appeared to have limited impact on Explosive Media’s reach, with its videos still being widely shared by content creators on the platform.

The satirical videos, which tap into American popular culture, caricatured Trump with an oversized yellow head and portrayed him as an old, isolated figure prone to childish tantrums, seemingly disconnected from reality.

After a two-week ceasefire was announced last week, the group posted a video on X with the caption: “TACO will always remain TACO,” referring to the acronym “Trump always chickens out”.

With dramatic background music, the video depicts a Trump-like toy figure huddling with Arab leaders, hurling a chair at US military figures, while Iranian generals press a red button labelled “Back to the Stone Age”, unleashing a torrent of destruction across the Middle East.

Cartoonish video memes – amplified by Iranian diplomatic missions and pro-Tehran accounts on social media – are emerging as an effective information warfare tool, a phenomenon analysts have dubbed the “Legofication” of conflict propaganda.

In recent weeks, viral meme videos have depicted fictional Iranian military victories, world leaders in subservient scenarios – dependent on Iranian leaders for oil – and even the strategic Strait of Hormuz reimagined as a cartoonish toll booth.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/pro-iran-youtube-mocking-trump-suspend-channel-lego-6059621

A massive solar tower in the Moroccan desert is the beacon of an ambitious push for a clean energy future. But fossil fuels and grid constraints stand in the way.

The Moroccan city of Ouarzazate, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Marrakech, lies on the edge of the Sahara and is known as the “door to the desert.”

Ouarzazate is probably best known for the Atlas Film Studios, where blockbusters from “The Mummy” to “Gladiator” and “Game of Thrones” have been filmed. But a new industry is taking shape.

Near the city, lying on a high plateau hemmed by the Atlas Mountains, one of the world’s largest solar power plants is being built. It is named Noor, meaning light in Arabic.

Stretching over nearly 500 hectares (some 1,200 acres), the solar facility produces enough energy to power more than a million homes. But this is not a typical solar farm.

Fossil fuels still dominate energy mix

Instead of commonly seen black PV panels, Noor uses concentrated solar power. A field of 2 million giant mirrors reflects the sun’s rays onto a central receiver that sits at the top of a 247-meter (810-foot) tower. The concentrated sunlight melts molten salt to 600 degrees Celsius (1,112 degrees Fahrenheit). That makes steam, which spins turbines, generating electricity even hours after sunset.

In Ouarzazate, however, electricity remains expensive. Most households are not dependent on solar, but on butane gas. So why hasn’t clean energy arrived for the local community?

One reason is that Morocco’s energy grid is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, and especially coal-fired power generation. Intissar Fakir, a senior fellow and founding director of the North Africa and the Sahel program at the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C. said this has slowed the nation’s clean energy transition.

“Fossil fuel-generated electricity contributes about 48% of the country’s energy-related greenhouse gas emissions,” she said.

Moroccans spend around $110 (€94) of their $550 average monthly income on electricity. This is in a hot and dry country, where residents rely on air conditioning or a fan to stay cool. It’s regularly over 40 degrees Celsius in Ouarzazate during the summer, and the number of hot days and nights has roughly doubled in the region since the 1970s.

This expense is partly down to the fact that Morocco does not produce any fossil fuels domestically, and imports about 90% of its coal, oil and gas, Fakir explained. Energy market and price fluctuations mean fossil fuel imports consume a major portion of the national budget, making the switch away from planet-heating coal, oil and gas increasingly urgent.

Power grid limitations delays energy transition

That said, Morocco has made more progress on renewables than most North African countries.

“Even by global standards, Morocco’s transition plan is pretty ambitious,” said Fakir. By 2030, the country plans to be able to power its economy with 52% of renewable electricity. By 2050, it’s aiming for 70% clean power capacity. And considering that the country has ample sun and coastal wind, the conditions seem right.

The Noor solar plant might be the star of Morocco’s shift to renewables, but it’s just one of around two dozen solar, wind and hydro megaprojects already built. Another several dozen are in the pipeline.

The country has also recently pledged to phase out coal power entirely by 2040 as part of its clean energy transition.

But it has some catching up to do. While it currently has enough renewable technology to generate 46% of its electricity, in 2023 the nation only achieved a little over half of that.

“The actual output in the country’s ability to integrate what Noor produces remains quite limited,” said Fakir. “Morocco still needs to invest in its grid capacity so they can integrate more of these renewable energies into daily use.” This includes investment in ways to store energy.

She said more investment is also needed if the country is to realize its goal of selling its clean power abroad — especially to Europe.

“Even as solar panels and wind turbines get cheaper, building large-scale, clean energy systems like Noor still takes serious upfront investment for low income countries,” she explained.

Are megaprojects the way forward for renewables?

Researchers and civil society organizations have also been critical of the government’s focus on megaprojects like Noor instead of more decentralized, small-scale clean energy schemes, including rooftop PV panels for homes, businesses and farms.

One critique is that concentrated solar power is very water intensive. Its millions of mirrors need to be cleaned with water to remove sand and dust that get in the way of their ability to reflect light. In addition, a lot of grazing land was appropriated from local farmers to host Noor, with little consultation.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/solar-power-in-moroccan-desert-bold-vision-mixed-results-noor-solar-project-ouarzazate/a-75387618

 

Carnival Cruise Line must pay $300,000 to a former passenger after a federal jury in South Florida found that the company was negligent in serving the woman more than a dozen shots of tequila before she fell down some stairs and suffered a possible traumatic brain injury.

The Miami federal jury decided last Friday in favor of Diana Sanders, a 45-year-old nurse from Vacaville, California.

“Taking on a corporate giant like Carnival is a massive undertaking, and I have enormous respect for my client’s resilience throughout this 18-month litigation,” Sanders’ attorney Spencer Aronfeld said in an email. “This case highlights the inherent dangers of all-inclusive drink packages, which encourage excessive consumption and pressure underpaid servers to prioritize tips over safety.”

A statement from Carnival Corporation said it respectfully disagrees with the verdict and believes there are grounds for a new trial and appeal, which it will pursue.

According to the lawsuit, Sanders was a passenger aboard the Carnival Radiance on Jan. 5, 2024, when was served at least 14 shots between approximately 2:58 p.m. and 11:37 p.m. She experienced a fall some time between 11:45 p.m. and 12:20 a.m. that caused her to suffer a concussion, headaches, a possible traumatic brain injury, back injuries, tailbone injuries, bruising and other injuries, the complaint said.

Aronfeld said jurors were presented with evidence of 30 minutes of missing surveillance video from the time Sanders left the Casino bar until she was found unconscious in a crew only area.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/cruise-alcohol-lawsuit-carnival-f55c49ed09af5511aa24cf1fb3f2f230

An American YouTuber who sparked national outrage in South Korea for provocative stunts, including dancing on a statue honoring victims of wartime sexual slavery, was sentenced to six months in prison Wednesday.

The Seoul Western District Court found Ramsey Khalid Ismael, a self-proclaimed internet “troll” known online as Johnny Somali, guilty of multiple charges, including obstruction of business and distributing fabricated sexually explicit content.

Prosecutors had sought a three-year term for Ismael, who also faced accusations of harassing staff and visitors at an amusement park, disrupting a convenience store by blasting music and upending noodles onto a table, causing similar scenes on a bus and subway, and distributing non-consensual deepfake videos.

The court said the 25-year-old displayed “severe” disrespect for South Korean law, noting that he offended countless people with livestreamed stunts aimed at generating YouTube revenue. The court ordered his immediate detention following the verdict, citing him as a flight risk.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-johnny-somali-youtube-statue-prison-9491a8f50244798c27fa794a8f2b07e4

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, expressed regret for the “hurt” caused by her past alarming social media posts – but failed to directly apologize for the troubling content praising Palestinian terrorists and bashing Israel.

The Big Apple’s 28-year-old first lady issued the mealy-mouthed mea culpa for a flurry of “harmful” posts she made on X and Tumblr in her teens and early 20s in a sit-down with Hyperallergic, an arts news outlet.

“When a tabloid recently published old tweets I wrote as a teenager, I felt a lot of shame being confronted with language I used that is so harmful to others; being 15 doesn’t excuse it,” Duwaji told the publication.

“I’ve read and seen a lot of what others have had to say in response, and I understand the hurt I caused and am truly sorry,” she added.

Controversial posts unearthed by the Washington Free Beacon last month — linked to her partly through facial recognition — showed her inflammatory content dated back to 2013, when she was reportedly 15.

In one 2015 post, she raged that Tel Aviv “shouldn’t exist in the first place,” calling its residents “occupiers,” and dropped the N-word in another post two years earlier.

On her now-inactive Tumblr, she hailed Palestinian plane hijacker Leila Khaled and members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, while reposting a tirade accusing US service members of “mercilessly slaughtering 3rd world civilians” to maintain “American hegemony.”

A December 2015 repost also blamed white people for the creation of al Qaeda, the outlet reported.

“You can’t blame muslims for terrorism because they didn’t construct, fund nor train Al-Qaeda,” the post said. “White People did that too.”

A week before the posts were exposed, Duwaji drew backlash when it emerged she once liked Instagram posts celebrating Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that shared images of the murderous assault on Israel.

One post included claims that the rapes carried out by the terror group against Israeli hostages and victims were a “mass hoax.”

While Duwaji remained silent amid the uproar, her socialist husband, a vocal critic of Israel, jumped to her defense, claiming she is a “private person” who holds no formal role in his administration and shouldn’t face scrutiny over her social media activity.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/04/15/us-news/nyc-first-lady-rama-duwaji-apologizes-for-past-harmful-social-media-content/

Gov. Kathy Hochul was dragged by critics for her sudden pied-à-terre tax push — including for backtracking on her no new taxes pledge — as Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his lefty allies cheerfully took credit Wednesday.

Hochul — who for months has been hounded by chants of “tax the rich” from Mamdani’s Democratic Socialists of America comrades — said she now wants to slap a levy on multi-million dollar secondary homes in the city.

“Kathy Hochul’s ‘No Tax Hike’ promise has expired faster than the families fleeing New York’s affordability crisis,” said Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Republican candidate facing off against Hochul as she seeks re-election this year.

The Democratic governor’s apparent attempt at appeasement involves taxing about 13,000 secondary residences worth at least $5 million in the Big Apple — a pitch that was forcefully condemned by real estate industry bigwigs.

“This proposal overpromises revenue while ignoring the real economic damage it would cause,” warned James Whelan, president of the powerful Real Estate Board of New York.

“A tax like this cannot be adopted without causing significant economic harm to everyday New York City residents,” he said in a statement Wednesday.

The governor’s office hopes the new surcharge — which has long been a goal of the Dem-controlled state Legislature — will drum up at least $500 million in revenue a year that would go toward filling the city’s so-called $5.4 billion budget deficit.

Mamdani and the city’s DSA chapter has been beating the drum for Hochul and the state Legislature to greenlight an income tax hike on New Yorkers making $1 million or more — while also pitching a corporate tax increase — in order to fill the budget gap.

City Hall has proposed a whopping $23 billion combined in taxes since Mamdani took office on Jan. 1. But Hochul was the one to offer the relative pied-à-terre peanuts, in an apparent bid to help him save face with his base, with the plan coming together over the last few weeks, according to sources.

But it didn’t stop Mamdani and his lefty pals from patting themselves on the back.

“When I ran for mayor, I said I was gonna tax the rich. Well, today, we’re taxing it,” Hizzoner boasted in a slickly produced video he released several hours after Hochul’s announcement.

“I’m thrilled to announce we’ve secured a pied‑à‑terre tax,” he continued in the clip, filmed outside billionaire investor Ken Griffin’s $238 million Manhattan penthouse.

He did not mention Hochul in the clip, though he thanked her in a statement included in the governor’s press release.

“Thanks to the support of Governor Hochul, we are one step closer to balancing our budget by taxing the ultra-wealthy and global elites with a pied-à-terre tax — the first of its kind in our state,” he said.

Hochul had repeatedly claimed she would not raise taxes even as Mamdani and other far-left pols have demanded the wealthiest New Yorkers and corporations fork over more.

“I don’t believe in raising taxes for the sake of raising taxes,” she said on Jan. 16 in a Fox 5 interview.

“And what is served by that? We have high taxes already predating my time. We have enough revenues to do what we want to do and what we need to do to support our state. So beyond that, I don’t see a justification.”

She reiterated that point during a Politico forum on March 11, claiming she wanted to “make sure we are smart about having a system in place where it’s not just taxing for the sake of taxing.”

Republicans slammed her over the glaring flip-flop, especially after she implored wealthy New Yorkers at that same forum to encourage their rich pals who fled the city to come back and keep padding government coffers.

“Speaking out of one side of her mouth, Hochul tells those who fled New York to come back but out of the other side, she’s plotting ways to tax New Yorkers even more,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) said in a statement.

State Assemblyman Michael Tannousis compared it to Hochul’s reversal on implementing congestion pricing — when she paused the new fee on motorists driving into the heart of Manhattan until after the 2024 election.

“She promises one thing and does another,” said the GOP pol, who represents parts of Staten Island and Brooklyn.

“This is a glimpse of what New York residents face if Hochul is re-elected. Don’t be fooled.”

Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella added: “This latest money grab will repeat the same pattern that has driven residents, businesses and investment out of New York for years. Targeting and punishing wealth does not fix the problem. However, reducing runaway spending, and providing incentives that expand the tax base, do.”

The pied-à-terre tax has been floated in the Legislature since at least 2019, but the specifics of Hochul’s proposal still need to be hashed out in the ongoing state budget negotiations.

The governor’s office did not provide details on exact planned rates but sources said it would likely involve a scale based on property sale values, increasing for homes worth $15 million and once more for pads worth at least $25 million.

Homes listed as vacant or vacation would be targeted while those labeled as rental units or owner-occupied would not be affected, according to Hochul’s office.

Currently, a 4,000-square-foot Chelsea condo on the market for $5 million already has a property tax bill of $84,000 annually, according to property records.

A 2,600 square-foot condo in Midtown being sold for $5 million has a tax bill of $42,000.

“This is a punitive tax for a beneficial outcome,” one real estate insider said.

“Pied-à-terres pay property taxes, employs people and use very few city services. We are lucky we have them; we shouldn’t discourage them.”

Another industry source argued the tax “will bring a halt to tens of billions of dollars in new construction, spending and tax revenue over the next decade.”

Big spending from pied-à-terre owners would also dry up, “hurting retail, theater, and cultural institutions,” the source warned.

Insiders also noted the relatively minor amount of revenue the surcharge would net — as sources insisted it was the last handout Hochul planned to deliver to help the new mayor. She also agreed to give the city $1.5 billion in February to help with the purported deficit.

“As Governor, I understand the importance of stabilizing the city’s finances without compromising on essential services New Yorkers count on,” she said in a statement. “If you can afford a $5 million second home that sits empty most of the year, you can afford to contribute like every other New Yorker.”

Hochul also defended her pitch – and claimed she was not entertaining raising income taxes or corporate taxes this year in her budget that is now more than two weeks late.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/04/15/us-news/hochul-dragged-for-flip-flopping-pied-a-terre-tax-as-mamdani-cheers/

 

He’s selling a “basket of goods.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani admitted Tuesday that the promised lower prices at his city-owned grocery stores will only be guaranteed for a core set of everyday staples.

Items in those so-called baskets of goods have yet to be decided, but likely include essentials such as bread, milk and eggs, officials said.

Beyond those essentials, the stores will also sell other foodstuffs and items. Officials said they’ll aim to make those items low-cost as well, but may not always be able to achieve the perpetual discount.

“When it comes to the products that we will be selling at the city-run grocery stores, there will be an essential basket of goods that will be guaranteed a cheaper price, and cheaper than what they’re being sold at currently,” Mamdani said during a news conference at La Marqueta in Harlem.

The already city-owned La Marqueta was the first location revealed to host Mamdani’s socialist pet grocery project, but he said Tuesday the actual store – which carries a whopping $30 million expected price tag – won’t open until 2029.

Other yet-to-be-decided municipal grocery stores will open before then, with the first expected to greet shoppers in late 2027, officials said.

“This store will be open in 2029,” Mamdani said. “The reason that we’re announcing it first is because, unlike other stores, this will be built from the ground up.”

The store at La Marqueta is planned to be a 9,000-square-foot market erected on a nearby vacant lot, officials said.

The project will cost roughly half the $70 million Mamdani’s administration expects to spend to get the city-owned grocery stores off the ground in all five boroughs by the end of his first term.

The funding still requires approval from the City Council.

Grocery executives were gobsmacked by the La Marqueta project’s $30 million price tag, with some pointing out a typical, 15,000-square-foot store without elevators or escalators costs under $10 million to build.

And at least two existing properties – one with 33,000 square feet of retail space, the other with 15,000 square feet – are currently up for sale down the block from La Marqueta for roughly $15 million and $7 million, listings show.

Mamdani pitched the city-owned stores starting during his mayoral campaign as an affordability measure that’ll tackle the often-volatile price of groceries.

City Hall officials plan to tap a private operator to manage the stores’ daily operations.

“What it’s going to allow people to do is it’s going to allow them to budget, and it’s going to allow it to feel the predictability of price,” Mamdani said.

The price of a “core basket of goods” – which Mamdani and City Hall officials didn’t specify – will be fixed, the mayor said.

Officials didn’t respond to The Post’s requests for comment on what exactly the goods will be – although Julie Su, the deputy mayor for economic justice, vaguely promised the city will subsidize the “things that families actually need every week.”

“And we will listen to the community, so the food on the shelves will reflect what people in this neighborhood eat,” she added during Mamdani’s news conference.

Jeanny Pak, the interim president for the city’s Economic Development Corporation, said the core basket will be fresh, everyday grocery items with a fixed discount.

“It’s going to be fixed throughout the five stores,” she said.

The EDC already oversees six public retail markets across the city, including La Marqueta – which carries a rich, symbolically resonant history for a public service-focused socialist such as Mamdani.

Former Mayor Fiorella La Guardia opened the establishment in 1936 as the Park Avenue Retail Market to put pushcart vendors under one roof and provide fresh food for working-class New Yorkers.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/04/14/us-news/zohran-mamdanis-city-owned-grocery-stores-will-only-guarantee-lower-prices-for-a-core-basket-of-goods/

President Donald Trump recently shared an AI-generated image of Jesus embracing him, following backlash from a previous post that depicted him as a Christ-like figure.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday shared an AI-generated image depicting Jesus embracing him, just days after facing backlash over a similar post portraying himself as a Christ-like figure. The image, originally posted on X by a supporter, was reshared by Trump on his Truth Social platform. Captioning the post, he wrote, “The Radical Left Lunatics might not like this, but I think it is quite nice!!!”

The latest post comes shortly after criticism over another AI-generated image shared by Trump on Sunday, which depicted him in flowing robes appearing to heal a sick man, with beams of light emanating from his hands.

The image also featured patriotic symbols such as the US flag, the Statue of Liberty and eagles, amplifying its visual messaging.

Donald Trump said China would welcome US opening the Strait of Hormuz and claimed that Xi Jinping agreed not to send arms to Iran

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that China “is very happy” that he is ”permanently opening” the Strait of Hormuz, adding that Chinese President Xi Jinping will give him “a big, fat hug” when both the leaders meet next month.

In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed that he is opening the Strait of Hormuz, just days after he announced that the US will impose a naval blockade on the key trade waterway.

“I am doing it for them, also – And the World. This situation will never happen again,” Trump wrote in the post.

“President Xi will give me a big, fat hug when I get there in a few weeks. We are working together smartly and very well! Doesn’t that beat fighting??? ” the post read.

However, Trump ended the post with a warning that the US is “very good” at fighting if they have to, “far better than anyone else.”

Trump says China agreed not to send weapons to Iran

In his post, Trump also said that China has agreed “not to send weapons to Iran.” Earlier in the day, Trump told Fox Business that Xi had “essentially” promised not to deliver weapons.

In an interview, Trump said he heard reports of China’s military help to Tehran. “I had heard that China’s giving weapons to- I mean, you’re seeing it all over the place- to Iran.”

He explained that he subsequently engaged the Chinese President to address the issue. “And I wrote him a letter asking him not to do that, and he wrote me a letter saying that essentially he’s not doing that,” he said.

While Trump and Xi were scheduled to meet in March, it was delayed due to Trump’s decision to launch a war.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/president-xi-will-give-me-big-fat-hug-trump-claims-he-is-permanently-opening-strait-of-hormuz-101776262030464.html

The Trump administration expressed optimism on Wednesday about reaching a deal to end the war with Iran, while also warning of increasing economic pressure against Tehran if it remains defiant.
President Donald Trump ​has said he believes the war he launched with Israel in late February is nearly over, even as a shipping blockade he announced came into effect and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained well below ‌normal levels.

The U.S. warned it could add secondary sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil in an apparent effort to gain leverage ahead of more negotiations, just weeks after Washington loosened the enforcement of some Iran energy sanctions.
U.S. and Iranian officials were weighing a return to Pakistan for further talks as early as the coming weekend, after negotiations ended on Sunday without a breakthrough. Mediator Pakistan’s army chief arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to try to prevent a renewal of the conflict.
“We feel good about the prospects of a deal,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a news conference, calling ​conversations mediated by Pakistan “productive and ongoing.” She denied reports that the U.S. had formally requested an extension of a two-week ceasefire agreed by the two sides on April 8.

More in-person talks had not yet been confirmed but would ​likely take place in Pakistan again, Leavitt said.
Pakistan’s military confirmed Field Marshal Asim Munir had arrived in Tehran. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Munir, who had mediated the ⁠last round of talks, would seek “to narrow gaps” between the two sides. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted on X welcoming Munir and said Iran was committed to “promoting peace and stability in the region.”
The talks last weekend broke down without an agreement to ​end the war, which Trump began alongside Israel on February 28, triggering Iranian attacks on Iran’s Gulf neighbours and reigniting a conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

ECONOMIC PRESSURE ON IRAN

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking alongside Leavitt, predicted that China’s purchase ​of Iranian oil would “pause” given the U.S. blockade on vessels calling at Iranian ports. He said the U.S. could impose secondary sanctions on countries that purchase Iranian crude.

The U.S. Treasury had warned two Chinese banks not to process Iranian money or face sanctions, he said, without naming the banks. China previously bought more than 80% of Iran’s shipped oil.
“The Iranians should know that this is going to be the financial equivalent of what we saw in the kinetic activities,” Bessent said, referring to the U.S. and Israeli campaign of airstrikes that killed a number of Iranian leaders ​and damaged its defensive capacities and navy.
He also said the U.S. would not renew waivers that allowed the purchase of some Russian and Iranian oil without facing U.S. sanctions. The moves signal an end to the Trump administration’s efforts to ​use the waivers to free up more oil supplies and lower soaring global energy prices.
The war has led Iran to effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz – a vital artery for global crude and gas shipments – to ships other than its own, sharply reducing exports ‌from the Gulf ⁠and leaving energy importers scrambling for alternative supplies.

Iran could consider allowing ships to sail freely through the Omani side of the strait without risk of attack as part of proposals it has offered in negotiations with the U.S., providing a deal is clinched to prevent renewed conflict, a source briefed by Tehran said.
Finance ministers from almost a dozen countries led by Britain called on the U.S., Israel and Iran to implement their in full and said the conflict would weigh on the global economy and markets even if it was resolved soon.

TANKERS INTERCEPTED

During the first 48 hours of the U.S. blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports, no vessels have made it past U.S. forces, the U.S. military said. Additionally, nine vessels complied with direction from ​U.S. forces to turn around and return toward an ​Iranian port or coastal area.
However, Iran’s Fars News agency ⁠said an Iranian supertanker subject to U.S. sanctions crossed the strait towards Iran’s Imam Khomeini port despite the blockade. Fars did not identify the tanker or give further details of its voyage.
Iran’s joint military command warned it would halt trade flows in the Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Red Sea – which connects to the Suez Canal – if the U.S. ​blockade continued.
Trump has also threatened to escalate if the war resumes.
“We could take out every one of their bridges in one hour. We could take out every one of ​their power plants, electric power plants, ⁠in one hour. We don’t want to do that…so we’ll see what happens,” he told Fox Business Network.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-shuts-down-irans-maritime-trade-despite-optimism-more-talks-2026-04-15/

As people increasingly turn to artificial intelligence for advice, some U.S. lawyers are telling their clients not to treat AI chatbots like trusted confidants when their freedom or legal liability is on the line.
These warnings became more urgent after a federal judge in New York ruled, this year that the former CEO of a bankrupt financial ​services company could not shield his AI chats from prosecutors pursuing securities fraud charges against him.

In the wake of the ruling, attorneys have been advising that conversations with chatbots like Anthropic’s Claude and ‌OpenAI’s ChatGPT could be demanded by prosecutors in criminal cases or by litigation adversaries in civil cases.
“We are telling our clients: You should proceed with caution here,” said Alexandria Gutiérrez Swette, a lawyer at New York-based law firm Kobre & Kim.
People’s discussions with their lawyers are almost always deemed confidential under U.S. law. But AI chatbots are not lawyers, and attorneys are instructing clients to take steps that could keep their communications with AI tools more private.

In emails to clients and advisories posted on their websites, more than a dozen major U.S. law ​firms have outlined advice for people and companies to decrease the chances of AI chats winding up in court.
Similar warnings are also appearing in hiring agreements by some firms with their clients. For instance, New ​York-based firm Sher Tremonte stated in a recent client contract that sharing a lawyer’s advice or communications with a chatbot could erase the legal protection known as attorney-client privilege ⁠that usually shields communications between lawyers and their clients.

A JUDICIAL RULING

The case that helped set off the alarm bells involved Bradley Heppner, the former chair of bankrupt financial services company GWG Holdings and founder of alternative asset firm ​Beneficent (BENF.O). Heppner was charged by federal prosecutors last November with securities and wire fraud, and pleaded not guilty.

Heppner had used Anthropic’s chatbot Claude to prepare reports about his case to share with his attorneys, who later argued that his AI exchanges ​should be withheld because they contained details from the lawyers related to his defense.
Prosecutors argued that they had a right to demand material that Heppner created with Claude because his defense lawyers were not directly involved, and because attorney-client privilege does not apply to chatbots.
Voluntarily revealing information from a lawyer to any third party can jeopardize the customary legal protections for those attorney communications.
Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff ruled, in February that Heppner must hand over 31 documents generated by Anthropic’s chatbot Claude related to the case.
No attorney-client relationship exists “or ​could exist, between an AI user and a platform such as Claude,” Rakoff wrote.

Lawyers for Heppner did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan declined to comment.
Courts already are grappling ​with the growing use of artificial intelligence by lawyers and people representing themselves in legal cases, which among other things has led to legal filings containing made-up cases invented by AI.
Rakoff’s decision was an important early test in the AI chatbot era for ‌bedrock legal protections ⁠governing attorney-client communications and materials prepared for litigation.
On the same day as Rakoff’s ruling, U.S. Magistrate Judge Anthony Patti in Michigan said a woman representing herself in a lawsuit she brought against her former company did not have to hand over her chats with OpenAI’s ChatGPT about the employment claims made in the case.
Patti treated the woman’s AI chats as part of her own personal “work-product” for the case, rather than as conversations with a person who her employer could seek to use for its defense.

ChatGPT and other generative AI programs “are tools, not persons,” Patti wrote in his order.

The privacy and usage terms for both OpenAI and Anthropic state that the companies can share data involving their users with third parties. Both ​also state that they require users to consult a qualified ​professional before relying on their chatbots for legal ⁠advice.
Rakoff at a February hearing in Heppner’s case noted that Claude “expressly provided that users have no expectation of privacy in their inputs.”
Representatives for OpenAI and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/ai-ruling-prompts-warnings-us-lawyers-your-chats-could-be-used-against-you-2026-04-15/

President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from his separate seat on the U.S. central bank’s Board ​of Governors if Powell does not vacate that post as well when his term as Fed chief ends on May 15, intensifying a complicated standoff that has upended ‌the Fed’s usually smooth transition of power.
Trump administration threats against Powell, including an ongoing criminal investigation, could delay Senate confirmation of Kevin Warsh as Trump’s nominee to succeed Powell as Fed chief, but the president in a Fox Business interview doubled down on the probe as a way to prove Powell’s “incompetence” and said if he doesn’t leave altogether, “then I’ll have to fire him.”

“You want Jay Powell out of the way?” the president was asked by Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo.
“If ​he’s not leaving on time – I’ve held back firing him, I’ve wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial, you know. I want to be uncontroversial, but he will ​be fired,” Trump responded. He gave no indication that U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro would back down from investigating a Fed ⁠building project the administration has criticized for cost overruns.
Trump’s language underscored the stakes, and the potential complications the administration faces if Powell doesn’t leave the seven-member Fed board.

With greater control of seats on ​the board, Warsh would have a freer hand in setting monetary policy and making other changes at the central bank that the administration might seek. Trump has appointed only three of the current members, and one ​of them, Fed Governor Stephen Miran, is in a seat whose term has already expired and, as it stands, would have to be vacated for Warsh to join.

PROBE COMPLICATES WARSH CONFIRMATION PROCESS

Three of the Fed’s seven current governors were appointed by former President Joe Biden; Powell was promoted to the top central bank job by Trump, but has proved himself independent of the president’s pressure and threats; and even Trump appointees like Fed Governor Christopher Waller are ​considered unlikely to support radical change or even abide by Trump’s advice on interest rates.

As a consequence, administration efforts to clear room on the board, such as through a move to fire Fed Governor Lisa ​Cook, a case that is pending in the U.S. Supreme Court, have become all the more urgent in the discussion of the Fed’s standing as an independent central bank able to set interest rates free of political ‌influence.

The status ⁠of the Pirro investigation, involving whether Powell made misstatements to Congress about the project at the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., is unclear. Pirro was rebuffed by a federal judge who said grand jury subpoenas were not warranted, but has not yet followed through on a promised appeal. Investigators from her office made an unannounced visit to the building site on Tuesday, where they were told to ask for an appointment.
Both Trump and Pirro have said the building investigation needs to be pursued regardless of how it affects Warsh’s confirmation process. Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican member of the Senate Banking Committee, has said he regards ​the probe as a frivolous assault on the ​Fed’s independence and will block Warsh’s confirmation until ⁠it is dismissed.
Warsh, who Trump has said he trusts to deliver interest rate cuts that Powell and other Fed officials feel would be unwise, given that inflation is running above the central bank’s 2% target, has a hearing before the committee on April 21.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters on Wednesday ​that he felt Warsh would be confirmed “on time.”
” I am confident that the process that we have laid out in terms of Kevin Warsh ​becoming the next Fed chair. ⁠He’s going to have the hearing on the 21st of this month. He’s a great candidate. We know that the Republicans on the Senate Finance or Senate Banking Committee are aligned in that, and I am very optimistic,” Bessent said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-feds-powell-if-he-doesnt-leave-ill-have-fire-him-2026-04-15/

Pope Leo on Wednesday urged Cameroon’s government to root out corruption and resist “the whims of the rich and powerful”, in a forceful speech given in the ​presence of President Paul Biya, who has led the country since 1982.
Leo, who was criticised by U.S. President Donald Trump for a second time during his 10-day ‌tour of four African countries, also called for an end to Cameroon’s simmering Anglophone conflict, which has killed thousands.

“It is time to examine our conscience and take a bold leap forward,” the first U.S. pope told Biya, Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute and other leaders shortly after arriving in Cameroon from Algeria.
“In order for peace and justice to prevail, the chains of corruption – which disfigure authority and strip it of its credibility – must be broken,” ​Leo said in an unusually direct speech for a papal trip overseas.
“Hearts must be set free from an idolatrous thirst for profit.”

TRUMP CRITICISM

Biya listened to the pope’s speech ​without visible reaction. His government denies accusations of corruption and human rights abuses and says the stability he brings allows Cameroon to avoid the ⁠kind of conflict seen elsewhere in the region, including in war-hit Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic.

Leo, who will mark one year as pope in May, kept a relatively ​low profile for a pope in his first 10 months but in recent weeks has become outspoken on a range of issues, notably the Iran war.
That has made him a target this week ​for criticism from Trump, who reiterated his comments in a social media post on Tuesday, despite a widespread backlash from U.S. Christians across the political spectrum.
Leo told Reuters on Monday he would keep criticising the war, regardless of Trump’s comments.
Speaking on his flight to Cameroon, Leo did not speak about Trump directly. He urged respect for all the peoples of the world and said his tour has shown the importance of pursuing dialogue between ​different communities.

SEPARATISTS VOW SAFE TRAVEL FOR VISITORS

Cameroon is a former German colony that was partitioned by Britain and France after World War One. Over the last decade, thousands have died in ​violence between government forces and separatist groups in its two English-speaking regions.

A separatist alliance has said it will observe a three-day “safe travel passage” to allow civilians and visitors to move freely during the pope’s visit.
Leo, who ‌also referred ⁠on Wednesday to conflicts with Nigeria-based militant groups such as Boko Haram in Cameroon’s north, lamented how fighting was depriving young people of education and hope for the future.

Meta will work with chip designer Broadcom to produce several generations of custom artificial intelligence processors under an expanded deal as the social media giant races to build out the computing capacity needed to power AI features across its apps.

Tuesday’s announcement extends the tie-up until 2029 and includes an initial commitment of over one gigawatt of computing capacity, enough to power roughly 750,000 U.S. homes on average.

As part of the deal, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan would leave Meta’s board and move to an advisory role on its custom chip strategy, the companies said in a joint statement.

As AI drives a surge in computing demand, big technology companies such as Meta, Google and Amazon are designing their own chips to reduce reliance on Nvidia’s costly processors.

That custom chip boom has made Broadcom one of the biggest winners of generative AI. The company works with clients to develop custom processors and supplies infrastructure software.

Its shares were up 3.5 per cent in extended trading, while those of Meta were little changed.

The tie-up helps “build out the massive computing foundation we need to deliver personal superintelligence to billions of people,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.

The company, which last month unveiled a roadmap of four new chips, said the initial capacity commitment with Broadcom was “the first phase of a sustained, multi-gigawatt rollout.”

Broadcom’s Ethernet networking technology will also be used to connect Meta’s rapidly growing clusters of AI computers.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/meta-extends-custom-chips-deal-broadcom-power-ai-ambitions-6056821

The woman was helping her son launder drug revenues while he was in prison in Cambodia. The court’s one-year prison term took into consideration her age and clean record prior to the laundering.

A South Korean court has sentenced a 90-year-old woman to one year in jail for helping her jailed son launder drug proceeds, the Korea Herald reported.

The son is a trafficking ringleader currently in Cambodian jail.

The Incheon District Court ordered the defendant to forfeit the 386 million won (roughly $260,000, €220,000) she had laundered on behalf of her son.

What do we know about the woman’s money laundering activities?

The court said the defendant knowingly received and transferred funds linked to narcotic crimes. Prosecutors say she received the 386 million won from unidentified individuals on nine occasions between April 2020 and February 2022, before transferring the funds to bank accounts designated to her son.

The 60-something year-old son was arrested in Cambodia in July 2020 on charges including methamphetamine possession, the Korea Herald reported. He remains imprisoned there, and investigators believe his drug trafficking operations continued during his incarceration.

“The defendant accepted illegal proceeds while being aware of circumstances indicating their connection to drug-related offenses,” the judge said of the mother, noting the severe social harm caused by narcotics crimes and the need for strict punishment.

The court found evidence contradicting the woman’s claim that she was unaware of the nature of her crime when committing it, noting she had visited Cambodia five times in 2019 and was informed by phone of her son’s detention there.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/south-korea-sentences-90yearold-woman-for-money-laundering/a-76773971

ERIC Swalwell’s political collapse came in a matter of days, with the California Democrat forced to quit his run for governor before announcing he would resign from Congress.

The once high-profile lawmaker saw his career unravel after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct, including sexual assault allegations that he denies.

Swalwell went from gubernatorial contender to outgoing congressman almost overnight.

The downward spiral began on Friday when a former staffer claimed Swalwell had sexually assaulted her twice, including once when she was still working for him, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Other women came forward that same day and accused the candidate of making unwanted sexual advances toward them when they were low level staffers.

Hours after the bombshell reports were published, Swalwell flatly denied the accusations and said the incidents alleged “never happened,” calling the claims “absolutely false.”

He posted his denial video from the $26 million Beverly Hills home of billionaire donor Stephen Cloobeck – who is engaged to a Penthouse Pet cover star accused of stealing from sugar daddies.

But, despite Swalwell’s defense, support began to drain from colleagues and former staffers and political allies who distances themselves.

Cloobeck told Fox affiliate KTTV he later threw Swalwell out of the house after deciding the congressman had “broke his trust.”

“You busted the trust. I’m disappointed and disgusted — get out of here,” Cloobeck said.

More than 55 former staffers signed a letter urging him to resign, while senior aides publicly backed the women who had come forward.

On Sunday, Swalwell suspended his campaign for governor, saying, “To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.

“I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made, but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”

By Monday, the seven-term congressman said he would leave the House as bipartisan calls for expulsion intensified.

“Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong,” Swalwell said.

“But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.”

At the same time, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into whether he engaged in sexual misconduct toward an employee he supervised.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office also confirmed it is investigating allegations tied to a 2024 encounter in New York.

Meanwhile, two women who accused him of sexual assault told
CBS News they felt “vindicated” by his decision to abandon the governor’s race and resign from Congress, but said the fight was far from over.

“He was pushed into a corner, essentially, because they were planning to expel him … so I think he did that to save face a little,” said Ally Sammarco, whose accusations were first detailed in a CNN report.

“But I also felt very vindicated that he realized it was over for him.”

Annika Albrecht told CBS News she first met him on a college class trip and said what began as a supposed mentorship turned sexually inappropriate.

She said Swalwell began speaking to her under the guise of professional mentorship and told her he could help her land her dream role as a chief of staff.

She said Swalwell added her on Snapchat, and later, Snapchat messages turned flirty and then crossed into what she described as sexually inappropriate.

Albrecht said Swalwell eventually invited her to meet him at a hotel.

“I keep thinking about how lucky I am that didn’t go to that hotel,” Albrecht said.

“It was very clear what the connotation was.”

Albrecht also said hearing other women’s accounts made the scandal even more chilling.

“It was terrifying to get on the phone with those women and hear their stories about how they were drinking with him and suddenly woke up in bed next to him with no recollection of how they got there,” she said.

Another accuser, Ally Sammarco, said she first connected with Swalwell in 2021 when she was 24 and working an entry level role on a political campaign for former Virginia Governor McAuliffe.

She reached out on Twitter to discuss their similar upbringing, and he quickly responded and moved their conversation to texts.

Eventually, Swalwell asked to communicate on Snapchat where messages and pictures are seen for a few seconds before they delete for good.

Their conversations were professional at first, but slowly became more explicit as time went on, Sammarco claimed.

“He was sending me photos of his face […] he was drinking in a lot of them,” she said.

“He would ask me if I was drinking too or tell me I should have a drink with him,” she said.

One day, Sammarco said Swalwell abruptly sent her a picture of his penis.

“I was shocked,” she said.

Swalwell “never should have run for governor to begin with knowing the kind of history and receipts that are out there,” Sammarco said.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16221116/eric-swalwell-political-collapse-resign-congress-accusers-break-silence/

JUSTIN Bieber’s private Coachella after-party had a guest list so exclusive that promoters and influencers who were initially invited wound up being turned away, The U.S. Sun can reveal.

The pop star was supported by the Kardashian-Jenner clan, along with actor Jacob Elordi, who was seen with them in the crowd – and later cozying up with Kendall at the after-party.

Following Bieber’s headlining set on Saturday night in Indio, California, the star hosted a blowout bash with wife Hailey and A-list friends.

Kendall, 30, and Jacob, 28, were reportedly “all over each other” at the after-party.

A source told The U.S. Sun that the party was ultra-exclusive and hosted by Bieber’s new fashion brand, Skylrk, which also had a pop-up at the festival.

“Many people were turned down who had previously been invited,” they claimed.

“Promoters also had a lot of girls on their guest lists and I heard Hailey was turning them away.”

Influencer Zach Clayton echoed this by sharing a video on his TikTok showing a guy complaining, “They cut all my guest list off.”

He explained he invited 20 girls and they were all denied, joking that Hailey is a “boss,” and she was likely the reason they were not given access to the private event.

An insider also told The U.S. Sun that the party was off-grounds, as it’s well known Bieber purchased a $16.6 million estate in the ultra-exclusive Madison Club in nearby La Quinta.

The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Biebers’ reps for comment.

Kylie and other Kardashian family members also own property in the guard-gated community.

A source told The U.S. Sun that Kendall and Jacob are not serious but were seen getting close in the early hours.

“Kendall is 100 percent Jacob’s type. I heard they’re having fun and he hung out with her Sunday, too,” they said.

Australian Jacob has been single since splitting from influencer Olivia Jade Giannulli in October 2025.

The pair had an on-and-off relationship from December 2021 through late 2025.

They last stepped out together at a Frankenstein screening in New York on January 14, but are said to be over.

“Him and Olivia are so done,” the insider added.

The U.S. Sun reached out to Kendall and Jacob’s reps for comment.

Kendall was seen at the festival dressed casually in a pair of white denim shorts, a white tank top, an Adidas hat, and shades.

Jacob wore Bieber’s merchandise, including a black Swag cap, and was seen sneaking through the crowd as he enjoyed the set with the Kardashian-Jenners.

Meanwhile, Kendall has been single since her brief romance with rapper and actor Bad Bunny.

Following their December 2023 breakup, they were spotted together again in May 2024.

Kendall was also seen at the Super Bowl in February, awkwardly dancing to his halftime performance, while the rapper had reconnected with his ex-girlfriend, Gabriela Berlingeri.

Kendall’s new romance with a movie star has tongues wagging, as her sister, Kylie Jenner, is dating Oscar-nominated actor Timothee Chalamet, who was also seen at the festival.

Both actors were highlighted as key figures of this year’s awards season, often appearing together at events.

Kim Kardashian was also seen at Coachella, hiding in the crowd with new love Lewis Hamilton as they tried to go incognito.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/16223505/justin-bieber-coachella-party-details-hailey-kendall-jenner/

NFL reporter Dianna Russini has resigned from The Athletic less than a week after published photos of her and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel at an Arizona resort prompted an internal investigation at The New York Times-owned sports outlet.

The New York Post last week published the photos of Vrabel and Russini at the Sedona hotel and said they were taken before the NFL owners meetings that began in Phoenix on March 29.

“I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published. When the Page Six item first appeared, The Athletic supported me unequivocally, expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism. For that I am grateful. In the days that followed, unfortunately, commentators in various media have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts,” Russini said in a letter sent Tuesday to Athletic Executive Editor Steven Ginsberg and obtained by The Associated Press.

“Moreover, this media frenzy is hurtling forward without regard for the review process The Athletic is trying to complete. It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept. Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now — before my current contract expires on June 30. I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”

Russini joined The Athletic in 2023 after nearly a decade at ESPN, where she held various roles, including “SportsCenter” anchor, NFL analyst and insider. She hosted a podcast for The Athletic and made appearances on their video platform.

Vrabel and Russini, who are both married, released statements to the Post after publication of the photos downplaying what the photos depict.

Russini said they “don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day.”

Vrabel told the newspaper: “Those photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable.”

Vrabel didn’t attend New England’s pre-draft news conference on Monday.

The New York Times reported Saturday that the digital outlet was investigating Russini’s conduct.

That decision came after Ginsberg previously told the Post that the photos “lacked essential context” and lauded her work with The Athletic.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/russini-vrabel-0e0006364d9d31f8e0fec65ecfb937c0

The former chief of staff to Eric Swalwell responded to the rape allegations against his former boss with a brutal rebuke about how no one is working for the congressman anymore.

Benjamin Burnett replied to a request for comment from the Hill about the swarm of sexual abuse and sexual misconduct allegations against the embattled former congressman.

“As of 2 PM (ET) today neither Cassie [Baloue] nor I work for or report to the former Congressman,” the post on X read.

“We will not be commenting on his behalf, relaying your request to him, or contact/coordinating with him in anyway.”

The message added, “He rightfully has no one working for him anymore.”

The comment came just hours after another alleged victim came forward with accusations on Tuesday of horrific claims that the married congressman drugged and raped her in a hotel room in 2018.

Lonna Drewes, 50, said she thought she was friends with the congressman but claimed he spiked her drink before choking and sexually assaulting her in West Hollywood.

The model sobbed as she claimed he was masquerading as helping her fashion software company take off, but ended up destroying her life and left her “crying all the time.”

She said she met Swalwell when she was working as a model in Beverly Hills and owned a fashion software company.

“After meeting, he offered me connections to further my software company, and I also had an interest in local politics.”

“He invited me to two public events. I knew he was married at the time and that his wife was pregnant. He was my friend. On the third occasion, I believe he drugged my drink. I only had one glass of wine.”

“We were supposed to go to a political event, and he said he needed to get paperwork from his hotel room,” Drewes went on.

“When I arrived at his hotel room, I was already incapacitated, and I couldn’t move my arms over my body. He raped me, and he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness. I thought I died.”

Drewes added, “I did not consent to any sexual activity, although I did not undergo a rape kit at the time, I disclosed the assault to the people closest to me.”

She later arrived at the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday to hand over what Drewes said are damning texts, photographs and journal entries accusing Swalwell of rape.

The latest accusations came after numerous women last week leveled heinous claims against Swalwell, including one also alleging he raped her, which has set fire to his political career. He’s since pulled out of the California governor’s race and vowed to resign from congress.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/04/14/us-news/eric-swalwells-chief-of-staff-gives-stinging-nine-word-message-amid-rape-scandal/

Lady Gaga managed to recapture the magic of Rivington St. in the 2000s after her Madison Square Garden show on Monday night.

After her final performance for her “Mayhem” tour, the “Abracadabra” singer and her fiance Michael Polansky head downtown to Maison Nur for a celebration with family and friends.

One person described it as Gaga’s “return to the Lower East Side.”

She famously honed her performance skills in the Manhattan neighborhood 20 some years ago, singing at now defunct dive bar St. Jerome’s with acts like Lady Starlight, jazz man Brian Newman and Breedlove, who were both on hand this week to fete her accomplishments.

Only this time, she had Polansky, who is also her artistic collaborator, by her side.

“Their vibe is just really good. His influence on everything is really affable. He’s not just some man hanging out or walking behind her. He’s her partner in the truest sense,” a source said of the couple.

The duo looked over their guests, including Maggie Gyllenhaal and Dylan Mulvaney, from the club’s upper level balcony and appeared to be equal hosts. He held court with guests at his table, while she entertained her closest childhood friends and her mom, Cynthia Germanotta at another table.

Gaga’s pals gushed over how proud they are of her, with one saying, “this show was literally the most fun I’ve seen her have on stage.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/04/14/society/lady-gaga-celebrates-end-of-tour-partying-with-her-fiance-michael-polansky-on-the-les/

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday told a German broadcaster that US peace negotiators “have no time for Ukraine” because of the war in Iran, and bemoaned disruptions of deliveries of US arms.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday told a German broadcaster that US peace negotiators “have no time for Ukraine” because of the war in Iran, and bemoaned disruptions of deliveries of US arms.

Zelensky told public broadcaster ZDF that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have helped broker talks with Moscow on ending Russia’s war on Ukraine, were “constantly in talks with Iran” at the moment.

Describing the pair as “pragmatic”, Zelensky said they were trying to “get more attention from Putin in order to end the war”.

But “if the United States does not put pressure on Putin (…) and only engages in a gentle dialogue with the Russians, then they will no longer be afraid”, he said.

US-led talks to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II have stalled since the Iran war erupted in late March, and Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have not met since February in Geneva.

Zelensky said that the issue of deliveries of US arms to Ukraine has become “a big problem”.

“If the war goes on, there will be less arms for Ukraine. It’s critical, especially in materials for air defences,” he said.

Zelensky later told a press conference during a visit to Norway that this was especially a problem for PAC-3 interceptor missiles, as well as the PAC-2 missile.

He said these were primarily bought through the PURL programme, which was launched last year and allows Ukraine to receive US equipment financed by European countries.

“At the very beginning of… (the) war in the Middle East we understood that we can have challenges,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky said deliveries came “slowly”, noting it was a “very difficult position for us.”

Zelensky made the comment alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, with the two leaders announcing they had signed “a joint declaration on enhanced defence and security cooperation.”

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/volodymyr-zelensky-says-us-doesnt-have-time-for-ukraine-because-of-iran-war-11358281

Talks to end the Iran war could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, after the collapse of weekend negotiations ​prompted Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports.
Officials from Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf also said negotiating teams from the U.S. and Iran could return to Pakistan later this week, although one ‌senior Iranian source said no date had been set.

Trump was quoted by the New York Post as saying: “You should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we’re more inclined to go there.”
Later on Tuesday at an event in Georgia, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Trump wanted to make a “grand bargain” with Iran but there was a lot of mistrust between the two countries.
“You are not going to solve that problem overnight,” Vance said.
While the U.S. blockade drew angry rhetoric from Iran, signs that ​diplomatic engagement might continue helped to calm oil markets, pushing benchmark prices below $100 per barrel.

Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global waterway for oil and gas transport, since the war began ​on February 28. Roughly 5,000 people have died in the hostilities.
Talks in Islamabad last weekend did not yield an agreement, raising doubts over the survival of a two-week ceasefire ⁠that still has a week to run.
Iran’s nuclear ambitions were a key sticking point. The U.S. had proposed a 20-year suspension of all nuclear activity by Iran, while Tehran had suggested a halt of three to five years, ​according to people familiar with the proposals. The U.S. has also pressed for any enriched nuclear material to be removed from Iran.
One source involved in the negotiations in Pakistan said backchannel talks since the weekend had produced progress in ​closing that gap, bringing the two sides closer to a deal that could be put forward at a new round of talks.

It was unclear what kind of nuclear deal could be quickly agreed by the U.S. and Iran, given the complexity of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that Trump withdrew from in 2018, and the likely need for monitoring and verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran also wants international sanctions removed, which the U.S. could not pledge by itself.

IMF CUTS GROWTH OUTLOOK

U.S. Central ​Command said no ships made it past its blockade of Iranian ports in the first 24 hours it was in place, while six merchant vessels turned back.
Centcom said more than a dozen U.S. warships were involved in the ​blockade, which only applies to ships going to or from Iran.
However, shipping data showed the blockade had made little difference to Strait of Hormuz traffic on Tuesday, with at least eight ships crossing the waterway.

The war has clouded the outlook for global energy ‌security and the ⁠supply of goods that rely on petroleum.
The International Monetary Fund cut its growth outlook and said the global economy would teeter on the brink of recession if the conflict worsens and oil stays above $100 into 2027. The International Energy Agency meanwhile lowered its forecasts for global oil supply and demand growth.
The United States’ NATO allies including Britain and France said they would not be drawn into the conflict by taking part in the blockade, although they have offered to help safeguard the strait when an agreement is in place.
China, the main buyer of Iranian oil, said the U.S. blockade was “dangerous and irresponsible” and would only aggravate tensions. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized China for hoarding oil during the war.
Analysts say oil ​prices are likely to remain elevated for weeks after ​the strait is fully reopened, due to backlogs, ⁠damaged infrastructure and elevated uncertainty.

ISRAEL-LEBANON TALKS CONCLUDE

Further complicating prospects for peace, Israel has continued to attack Lebanon as it targets Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group. Israel and the U.S. say that campaign is not covered by the ceasefire, while Iran has insisted it is.
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted a meeting between envoys for Israel and ​Lebanon, which the State Department described as the first major high-level engagement between the two countries since 1993.
Lebanon sought a ceasefire to end Israeli strikes that have ​killed more than 2,000 people and ⁠forced 1.2 million from their homes, while Israel was pressing for Beirut to disarm Hezbollah.
The U.S. State Department said afterward that the two sides agreed to continue their talks.
Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. said he was hopeful the Lebanese government wanted to reduce Hezbollah’s influence, while Lebanon’s ambassador to the U.S. said in a statement that the meeting was “constructive,” and the date and location of the next meeting would be announced in due course.
Lebanon’s government sought the negotiations despite objections from ⁠Hezbollah.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-begins-iran-port-blockade-oil-prices-ease-hopes-dialogue-2026-04-14/

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday her government had suspended a ‌defence cooperation deal with Israel, reflecting frayed ties between previously close allies as the conflicts in the Middle East continue.
Meloni’s right-wing government has been one of Israel’s closest friends in Europe, but in recent weeks it has criticised its attacks on Lebanon, which have killed ​hundreds and injured thousands.

Israel also fired warning shots last week at Italian troops serving in Lebanon under ​a U.N. mandate, causing damage to a vehicle.
“When there are things we don’t agree ⁠with, we act accordingly,” Meloni told reporters on the sidelines of a wine fair in Verona, northern Italy.
“In ​light of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with ​Israel,” she added.
Meloni’s announcement marked another diplomatic realignment for her right-wing government, coming a day after she criticised another close ally, U.S. President Donald Trump, for his attacks on Pope Leo.

A source close to the matter, who requested anonymity, said Meloni took the decision on ​Monday with her foreign and defence ministers, Antonio Tajani and Guido Crosetto, as well as Deputy Prime Minister ​Matteo Salvini.
Israel’s foreign ministry played down the consequences.
“We have no security agreement with Italy. We have a memorandum of understanding from ‌many years ⁠ago that has never contained any substantive content. This will not affect Israel’s security,” it said in a statement.

MELONI CHANGES TACK

Meloni has been in power since 2022 and will face a general election by late 2027.
“It’s a repositioning,” Lorenzo Castellani, political historian at Rome’s Luiss University, told Reuters.
“She’s afraid that a sizeable portion of the electorate, ​even among the centre-right, will ​become highly critical of ⁠Trump and Netanyahu and of the effects of this war on Iran on the economy,” he added.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/italy-suspends-defence-cooperation-deal-with-israel-2026-04-14/

Pope Leo warned of the risk of democracies sliding into “majoritarian tyranny” on Tuesday, in a ​letter issued by the Vatican two days after U.S. ‌President Donald Trump attacked the pontiff on social media.
The first U.S. pope, writing to participants of a Vatican meeting about the use of power in democratic ​societies, said democracies remained healthy only when they were ​rooted in moral values.

“Lacking this foundation, (democracy) risks becoming either ⁠a majoritarian tyranny or a mask for the dominance of ​economic and technological elites,” said Leo in the letter.
The text, released ​as the pope was undertaking an ambitious, 10-day tour of four African countries, did not directly address the U.S. or name any specific democracies.
Trump sharply ​criticized Leo as “terrible” on Sunday night, after the pope had emerged ​in recent weeks as a growing critic of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Leo told Reuters ‌on ⁠Monday that he planned to keep criticizing the war, despite Trump’s comments.
In Tuesday’s letter, the pope said the Catholic Church taught that power could not be seen as an end in ​itself “but as a ​means ordered toward ⁠the common good”.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/pope-leo-issues-warning-democracy-after-trump-criticism-2026-04-14/

Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun’s warning coincided with the start of the US naval blockade on Monday.

A senior Chinese official has warned the United States against imposing a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz and cautioned it not to interfere in China’s bilateral relations with Iran. Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun’s warning coincided with the start of the US naval blockade at 7:30 pm IST on Monday.

“We have trade and energy agreements with Iran; we expect others not to interfere in our affairs,” Jun said, adding that the Strait of Hormuz remains open for China.

The waterway is extremely crucial for Beijing as it supplies nearly 40 per cent of its oil and at least 30 per cent of its LNG needs. Hence, China has been pushing for a ceasefire to secure the critical waterway in the Gulf.

According to some experts, Trump’s naval blockade could be aimed at the Chinese yuan used by some vessels to transit the critical Gulf chokepoint – seen as a challenge to the decades-old petrodollar system and a means to sidestep US sanctions.

CHINA BACKS CEASEFIRE

Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Ministry has reiterated its support for a ceasefire, arguing that the waterway’s “safety, stability and unimpeded passage” serves the common interests of the international community.

“The root cause of disruptions to navigation through the strait lies in the conflict involving Iran, and the way to resolve this issue is to achieve a ceasefire and end hostilities as soon as possible,” SCMP quoted spokesperson Guo Jiakun as saying.

He also added that China is ready to play a positive and constructive role in ending the conflict in the Middle East – a region where China is competing with the US for influence.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES BLOCKADE

After high-stakes talks with Iran collapsed on April 11 without a breakthrough, US President Donald Trump announced that the American Navy would blockade maritime access to Iranian ports through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz,

The US Central Command (Centcom) said the blockade would target all vessels entering or exiting Iranian ports. In a statement, Centcom added that the move would be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations” using Iranian ports and coastal areas.

The US military said that the blockade would not impede neutral transit passage through the strait to or from non-Iranian destinations.

However, neutral vessels may still be subject to the right of visit and search to determine the presence of contraband cargo, while vessels entering or departing the blockaded area without authorisation would be subject to interception, diversion, and capture.

TRUMP VS CHINA OVER IRAN

China and the US have not been on the same page over the ongoing conflict. Following the start of hostilities on February 28, Beijing condemned the Israeli-US attack on Iran.

“The blatant killing of a sovereign leader and the incitement of regime change are unacceptable,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Foreign Minister Wang Yi as saying on February 28.

The US has warned of “complications” if Beijing gets involved with Iran in a way that is counter to US interests.

Trump has also threatened Beijing with 50 per cent tariffs if it supplies weapons to Tehran. An intelligence assessment claimed that Beijing could be preparing shipments of air defence systems to Iran.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/china-warning-shot-us-over-strait-of-hormuz-blockade-dont-interfere-2895652-2026-04-13

 

A new report on the stabbing that left little three girls dead in UK’s Southport concluded that the killer’s parents and state authorities failed to act on his violent behavior.

The results of an inquiry into the killing of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in 2024 was released on Monday, concluding that the massacre could have been prevented.

The attack took place in Southport, in northwestern England, when Axel Rudakubana broke into the morning dance class and killed three girls aged 9, 7, and 6 years old. He also wounded eight other children and two adults.

The tragic incident led to a week of anti-immigraton riots in more than a dozen English and Northern Irish towns and cities, after false reports that the attacker was a Muslim asylum-seeker. In actuality, Rudakubana was born in Cardiff to a Christian family from Rwanda.

History ‘would have taken a different course’

The 763-page report affirmed that Rudakubana’s parents and state agencies were aware of his fixation on violence and the inquiry cataloged the many times parents or authorities could have intervened.

Retired judge Adrian Fulford, who led the nine-week inquiry, said that both family and authorities could have prevented Rudakubana from carrying out the attack. Fulford described the killings as unprecedented in the UK for their “extreme and very particular depravity.”

“History simply would have taken a different course,” Fulford said as he published the report.

Last year, Rudakubana was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years in prison for the attack.

Parents failed to communicate threat

The new report faulted Rudakabana’s parents for not reporting his behavior and other issues to authorities.

It noted that they permitted the delivery of knives and weapons to the home and failed to report critical information in the days leading up to the attack.

A lack of oversight of the teenager’s online activity would have “provided the clearest indications of his violent preoccupations,” the report read.

Fulford also accused the parents of having “created significant obstructions” for various government agencies to engage with the teenager, and failed to stand up to his behavior and set boundaries.

“If AR’s parents had done what they morally ought to have done, AR would not have been at liberty to conduct the attack and it would not therefore have occurred,” Fulford added.

Rudakubana had multiple encounters with police

The report also took aim at state authorities who failed to manage the risk the teenager represented, despite being on their radar.

In 2019, He was convicted at age 13 of assaulting another child at school with a hockey stick and placed under supervision of a local service for youth offenders.

Rudakabana was referred to the government’s anti-extremism program three times between 2019 and 2021 for expressing interest in school shootings and terrorist attacks.

But authorities closed the case each time.

Local police had also been called to his home five times over unspecified concerns about his behavior.

Although he was provided with mental health and educational support, he reportedly stopped engaging with social workers and was expelled after bringing a knife to school.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/uk-finds-attack-on-taylor-swift-themed-class-preventable/a-76767586

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, has been charged with corruption after a two-year criminal investigation, according to a court ruling.

Gómez is accused of using her relationship to advance her private career through a position at Madrid’s Complutense University. She is also accused of using public resources to advance private interests.

She was charged with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds, the ruling said. It is now up to the courts to decide whether she will stand trial.

Gómez denies the charges, while Sánchez has dismissed the allegations as an attempt by the right-wing to undermine his coalition.

The investigation was opened by Judge Juan Carlos Peinado in April 2024 to determine whether Gómez had exploited her position as the prime minister’s wife for private gain.

She is accused of using her position to secure a post at the prestigious university where she directed a master’s degree course in business studies. The judge points to Gómez’s lack of relevant qualifications as evidence.

The complaint against Gómez was raised by anti-corruption campaigners Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), led by a man linked to the far-right called Miguel Bernad. The group has presented a litany of unsuccessful lawsuits against politicians in the past.

When the investigation started, Sánchez suspended public duties for five days to “stop and reflect” on whether to remain in the job due to “the mud” that he said the right and far-right were trying to drag politics into.

He complained of a “strategy of harassment” over months aimed at weakening him politically and personally targeting his wife.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8ejg3wk81no

Lady Fatou, known as the “grand dame” of the Berlin Zoo, was certified last year by Guiness as the oldest living gorilla in the world.

At 69 years old, Lady Fatou on Monday became not only the Berlin Zoo’s longest-residing tenant but also maintained her title as the oldest gorilla in the world.

Born somewhere in West Africa in 1957, she arrived in Europe at the port of Marseilles in 1959 amongst the luggage of a French sailor. According to the Berlin Zoo, the sailor found himself unable to pay his bill at a tavern and gave Fatou to the landlady as payment. From there, she soon ended up in the German capital.

Fatou is a western lowland gorilla. In the wild they usually don’t live past their 40s, and even in captivity 50 is considered advanced old age.

In 1974 she gave birth to Dufte, the first gorilla born at the Berlin Zoo. Although her daughter passed away in 2001, Fatou’s granddaugther M’penzi still keeps her company in Berlin. She has at least three great-great-great grandchildren as of 2026.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/worlds-oldest-gorilla-celebrates-69th-birthday-at-berlin-zoo/a-76760115

AN investigation has been launched after a pilot flew dangerously low over his home town while making his final ever journey.

The veteran pilot sought to celebrate his retirement by guiding a Boeing 757 just metres above homes in Keflavik, Iceland.

The actions of this audacious aviator have since been branded as reckless by fellow pilots.

A chief pilot with Icelandair, Linda Gunnarsdóttir, said: “This is not standard practice; this is a very serious matter that we will review internally.”

The pilot in question is Captain Ólafur Bragason.

After more than forty years in the industry, the 65-year-old was reportedly embarking on his final journey.

He was piloting a commercial flight from Frankfurt to the frozen Icelandic town.

At one point, the aircraft flew over the volcanic archipelago of Vestmannaeyjar.

Just off the southern coast of Iceland, Bragason regularly frequented its challenging terrain as a kid.

As the aircraft approached the urban area, residents reportedly became alarmed, fearing the plane was about to crash.

The pilot reportedly requested permission from Avians, which provides air navigation services, to change his flight path.

“During descent, the aircraft leaves controlled airspace, usually around 3000ft, and is then in uncontrolled airspace, which means that the pilot-in-command makes his own decisions about the flight,” the organisation said.

Thankfully, nobody was injured and Bragason eventually touched down at Keflavik International Airport.

Unsurprisingly, Icelandair bosses were not impressed by the pilot’s sheer stupidity.

They claim Bragason performed the daring stunt without the knowledge or consent of the airline.

“In aviation, everything is tightly governed by procedures and checklists in normal passenger operations, and this does not fall within that framework”, Gunnarsdóttir said.

She added that while celebratory flyovers do happen from “time to time, it is by no means standard practise and not something we would have authorised”.

“We apologise to the residents of Vestmannaeyjar if they have been disturbed,” Gunnarsdóttir said.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16218969/pilot-flies-jet-low-over-hometown/

KOURTNEY Kardashian’s Poosh party took a dusty turn at Coachella.

A sandstorm at the reality star’s wellness event sent tables flying and influencers running for cover.

Camp Poosh, Kourtney’s annual Coachella retreat, is billed as an adult summer camp for influencers.

Influencers snacked on free food and picked up souvenirs provided by brands at the festival preparty on Saturday.

A video shared by influencer Jack Jerry from the event shows the desert oasis destroyed by a sandstorm.

The high winds in Palm Springs sent plumes of dust billowing through the air at the Poosh campgrounds.

The video shows sand blowing over a pond, rustling palm trees, and blotting out the blue sky.

Displays cases also tipped over as influencers were seen leaving the event.

Jack even captured the moment a table fell over on one attendee.

“Camp Poosh destroyed by a sandstorm,” Jack captioned the video.

Sandstorms aren’t uncommon during Coachella, which is held in the California desert.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/16216847/kourtney-kardashian-camp-poosh-party-coachella-destroyed-sandstorm/

 

Eric Swalwell dramatically announced he was resigning from Congress on Monday just hours before a bombshell press conference from one of his alleged victims.

The married former California governor hopeful again defiantly shot down the sexual assault and rape claims against him — but said he felt it was right to step aside amid the chaos.

Congress erupted at the update, with Florida Rep Anna Paulina Luna claiming “more disgusting stuff coming” that she argued could send him to jail.

Swalwell’s statement, which extinguishes the final flame in his rollercoaster political career, came just hours after the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into the allegations against him, which will now be scrapped when he officially resigns.

The fallout has also embroiled Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales, who is under fire over sexual advances towards an aide who later committed suicide, as he suddenly said he will retire from Congress.

Swalwell said Monday: “I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.

“I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.

“I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members. Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong.

“But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.”

He did not specify when he would officially step down, but said he will work with his team to handover responsibilities over the next two weeks.

Swalwell has been accused by four women of lewd sexual acts such as sending nudes, harassing and turning up outside one woman’s home.

One of the alleged victims claimed he raped her in a hotel in New York City in 2024, sparking an investigation from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

On Tuesday morning a woman who claims she is a victim of his will hold a blockbuster press conference in Beverly Hills to outline her allegations against the congressman.

The media event featuring the new accuser will take place at 9;30am PT, according to the women’s high-profile lawyer Lisa Bloom.

Bloom is an attorney who has built a career around defending women’s rights and victims of sexual assault.

She has represented the likes of actress Janice Dickinson who claimed Bill Cosby raped her in 1982, as well as a handful of Jeffrey Epstein victims.

She also comes from legal pedigree. Her mother is famed attorney Gloria Allred who has defended various individuals claiming to be sexual assault victims of Sean Diddy Combs.

Fudali is a partner and managing attorney at the Bloom firm, who has represented 11 Epstein accusers.

Both Bloom and Fudali are known for having dramatic press conferences with victims and leveraging the media for exposure.

Florida Rep. Luna was quick to leap on Swalwell’s resignation message, suggesting more accusations will soon emerge and even claiming they could put him behind bars.

She said: “Don’t you dare say there weren’t grounds for your expulsion because there absolutely were. He made the correct decision, but there still needs to be a full-fledged criminal investigation. Based on what I’m hearing, he may go to jail.”

The Republican firebrand did not stop there, adding: “I am being told there will be more disgusting stuff coming out.”

Earlier Monday the House Ethics Committee launched a probe into the accusations of sexual misconduct leveled at Swalwell.

The panel said: “The Committee … has begun an investigation and will gather additional information regarding the allegations that Representative Eric Swalwell violated the Code of Official Conduct or any law with respect to allegations that he may have engaged in sexual misconduct, including towards an employee working under his supervision.”

But when he officially announces he will resign, this will be dropped because the committee only has jurisdiction over current members.

Swalwell will first have to submit a letter to the House speaker or clerk announcing he is no longer a congressman, which could come as early as Tuesday when the House reconvenes.

A Congressional Research Service report says: “Regardless of the potential offense, a Member’s departure from the House ends a case, as the committee does not have jurisdiction over former Members.”

Swalwell’s reputation has fallen off a cliff since the four women came forward last Friday with the heinous claims, forcing the 45-year-old father of three to suspend his run for governor on Sunday.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/04/13/us-news/eric-swalwell-resigns-from-congress-after-sexual-misconduct-accusations/

Kanye West’s protracted and vicious racism appears not to have damaged the value of his early artworks.

In 2021, we reported that Washington D.C. based entrepreneur and art collector, Vinoda Basnayake, purchased West’s teenage drawings for an undisclosed amount after seeing them on PBS “Antiques Roadshow.”

The pieces were appraised on the show for around $16,000 to $23,000.

But Basnayake now claims that they’re actually worth $3.1 million after he had them appraised by the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice late 2025.

The collection features five paintings and drawings — including a “circa 1995” drawing of West’s late mother, Donda West, valued at $335,000 — that West made when he was an art student at Polaris School in his hometown of Chicago, Il.

Basnayake didn’t reveal how much he paid for Ye’s work at the time due to an NDA.

But interest from social media and online publications like rap news site Bars encouraged him to make it public.

Basnayake claimed to Page Six that his appraiser said the TV valuation “materially missed the bigger picture because they approached the work as typical celebrity art, which on its own doesn’t usually command major value.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/04/13/society/art-collector-claims-kanye-wests-teenage-paintings-are-worth-millions/

 

North Korea conducted another test-fire of strategic cruise missiles and anti-warship missiles on Sunday as part of operational efficiency trials of its destroyer Choe Hyon, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.

North Korea conducted another test-fire of strategic cruise missiles and anti-warship missiles on Sunday as part of operational efficiency trials of its destroyer Choe Hyon, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.

Leader Kim Jong Un observed the test alongside senior defence officials and naval commanders, the report said.

Two strategic cruise missiles and three anti-warship missiles were fired to check the warship’s integrated weapons command system, train crews in missile-launch procedures and verify the accuracy and anti-jamming performance of upgraded navigation systems, KCNA said.

The cruise missiles flew for about 7,869 to 7,920 seconds and the anti-warship missiles for about 1,960 to 1,973 seconds over waters off the country’s western coast, striking their targets with what the report described as ultra-precision accuracy.

KCNA said Kim was briefed the same day on weapons system plans for two additional destroyers under construction.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/north-korea-tests-cruise-anti-ship-missiles-from-naval-destroyer-11353510

 

The U.S. military began a blockade of Iran’s ports on Monday, President Donald Trump said, and Tehran threatened to ​retaliate against its Gulf neighbors’ ports after weekend talks in Islamabad on ending the war broke down.
A U.S. official said there was continued engagement with Iran, and forward motion on ‌trying to get to an agreement. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also said efforts were still under way to resolve the conflict.

But oil prices climbed back to $100 per barrel, with no sign of a swift reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to ease the biggest ever disruption in supplies and broader concerns over the durability of a two-week ceasefire agreement reached last week.
Trump said Iran had been in touch on Monday and wanted to make a deal but that he would not sanction any ​agreement allowing Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.
“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We can’t let a country blackmail or extort the world.”
Since the United States ​and Israel began the war on February 28, Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz to all vessels except its own, saying passage would be permitted ⁠only under Iranian control and subject to a fee.

Trump has said Washington would block Iranian vessels and any ships that paid such tolls and that any Iranian “fast-attack” ships that went near the blockade would be eliminated.
Brigadier ​General Reza Talaei-Nik, a spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Defense, warned that foreign military efforts to police the strait would escalate the crisis and instability in global energy security.
NATO allies including Britain and France said they would not ​be drawn into the conflict by taking part in the blockade, stressing instead the need to reopen the waterway, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil normally passes.
The talks between the U.S. and Iran in Pakistan, the first direct meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, ended on Sunday without an agreement.

Despite that, Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation, told Fox News on Monday the U.S. “made a lot of progress” by ​communicating to Tehran where the U.S. “could make some accommodation” and where it would remain inflexible.
He said Trump was adamant that any enriched nuclear material must be removed from Iran and a mechanism must be established to ​verify that Iran is not developing nuclear weapons.
Tehran “moved in our direction, which is why I think we would say that we had some good signs, but they didn’t move far enough,” Vance said, without disclosing details.

CEASEFIRE UNDER STRAIN

The ceasefire that ‌halted six ⁠weeks of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes looked in jeopardy, with only a week left to run.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said the blockade would be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations” entering or leaving Iranian ports in the Gulf and Gulf of Oman.
“The blockade will not impede neutral transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz to or from non-Iranian destinations,” Central Command said in a note to seafarers seen by Reuters on Monday.
An Iranian military spokesperson called any U.S. restrictions on international shipping “piracy,” warning that if Iranian ports were threatened, no port in the Gulf or Gulf of Oman would be secure. Any military vessels approaching the strait would violate the ceasefire, ​Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said.
Trump said Iran’s navy had been “completely ​obliterated” during the war, adding that only a ⁠small number of “fast-attack ships” remained.
“Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea. It is quick and brutal,” Trump said on social media.
He was apparently referring to the U.S. ​strikes carried out against suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. The strikes, which began in September, killed more than 160 people. The U.S. military ​has not provided evidence that ⁠the vessels were ferrying drugs.

LEBANON FACES ATTACKS

Trump has also lashed out at U.S.-born Pope Leo, who has spoken out against the war, denouncing him as “terrible” in a rare direct attack by a U.S. president on a pontiff.
With the war unpopular at home and rising energy prices causing political blowback, Trump paused the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign last week after threatening to destroy Iran’s “whole civilisation” unless it reopened the strait.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-blockade-iran-after-talks-fail-yield-a-deal-2026-04-13/

Pope Leo told Reuters on Monday that ​he plans to continue speaking out against war after U.S. ‌President Donald Trump’sdirect attack on the leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church.
In comments aboard the papal flight to Algiers, where the first U.S. pope is starting a 10-day ​tour to four African countries, the pontiff also said the Christian ​message was being “abused”.

“I don’t want to get into a ⁠debate with him,” Leo told Reuters as he greeted journalists on ​the plane. “I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant ​to be abused in the way that some people are doing.”

“I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral ​relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems,” ​he said, speaking in English.
“Too many people are suffering in the world today,” said ‌Leo. “Too ⁠many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say: ‘There’s a better way’.”

“The message of the church, my message, the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the Peacemakers. I ​do not look ​at my role ⁠as being political, a politician,” he said.
Leo, originally from Chicago, has emerged as an outspoken critic of ​the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in recent weeks and ​decried the “madness ⁠of war” in a peace appeal on Saturday.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/pope-says-he-will-continue-speak-out-against-war-after-trump-attack-2026-04-13/

U.S. President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure on Sunday, drawing widespread criticism even from some religious conservatives who typically support him, before deleting ​the post on Monday.
The post on Trump’s Truth Social platform, which Trump later said was meant to portray him as a doctor, came amid his escalating feud with Pope Leo, who has criticized ‌the war that started with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran as inhumane. Shortly before publishing the image, the president posted a lengthy screed against Pope Leo, calling him “WEAK on crime and terrible for Foreign Policy.”

Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, said in response to Trump’s attacks that he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and would continue to speak out. In a forceful speech on Monday in Algiers, he denounced “neocolonial” world powers who are violating international law, without specifically referring to the United States.
Sunday’s post, depicting Trump in a white robe with an apparently healing hand on ​a supine man’s head, could create a rift between Trump and the religious right, whose support was critical to his victory in the 2024 election.
In the painting-like image, Trump holds a glowing orb in one hand and ​uses his other hand to touch a seemingly sick man on the forehead. The Statue of Liberty, fireworks, a fighter jet and eagles could be seen in the background.

Trump ⁠denied on Monday that the image was intended to show him as a Jesus-like figure.
“It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better, and I do make people better,” he told reporters at the White House, soon after ​the post was deleted.
Brendan McMahon, an art history professor at the University of Michigan, found that explanation “highly suspicious” given that the image depicts another figure in scrubs, and because Trump is depicted bathed in a bright light used to signify the divine ​in countless works of religious art through various centuries. Light also emanates from Trump’s hands in the image.
“It’s borrowing from this long tradition of Christian imagery with Christ as healer,” McMahon said. “Style-wise, it seems like it’s gesturing towards social realism of the interwar period in the States, like WPA murals, imagery about enfranchising working-class Americans.”

Brilyn Hollyhand, who served as the co-chair of the Republican National Committee Youth Advisory Council, had a sharper critique, writing on X: “This is gross blasphemy. Faith is not a prop. You don’t need to portray yourself as a savior ​when your record should speak for itself.”
Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer and outspoken critic of transgender athletes in women’s sports who has appeared with Trump at rallies, wrote on X she could not understand why Trump posted the image.
“Does ​he actually think this?” she wrote. “Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked.”
Christian voters, including Catholics, have formed a critical part of Trump’s political base. Trump, who does not attend church regularly, ‌won large majorities ⁠of Christian voters in the 2024 election, including Catholics, who had previously been closer to a split.

After Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt in July 2024, some evangelical supporters said it was evidence he had been blessed by God.

TRUMP FEUD COULD TEST CATHOLIC VOTER LOYALTY

David Gibson, the director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University, a Catholic school, said it was difficult to understand Trump’s motive in attacking Leo and for posting the image, but that it was also hard to say whether American Catholics would turn against him.
“Will this move cross a red line for them? Will they finally punish Trump and the GOP at the ballot box?” he said. “This is a watershed moment – will Catholics in America choose the pope ​or the president?”
Bishop Robert Barron, who serves on a Trump-created ​religious liberty commission, said on X that the president ⁠owed Leo an apology for his “inappropriate” statements on social media. But he also praised Trump in the same post for his outreach to Catholics.
Trump told reporters on Monday he had “nothing to apologize for” to the pope.
In recent weeks, Leo has become one of the most prominent critics of the war in Iran, even making an unusual direct appeal to Trump and urging ​him to find an “off-ramp.”

TRUMP-VATICAN TENSIONS DEEPEN OVER IRAN

Leo has also said that Jesus cannot be used to justify war and that God rejects the prayers of those who ​start conflicts. Those remarks were widely ⁠seen as a rebuke to Trump officials like U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who has cited scripture to justify the use of “overwhelming violence” against enemies and likened the rescue of a U.S. airman inside Iran to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Trump also feuded at times with Leo’s predecessor, Francis, who publicly opposed Trump’s deportation campaign as un-Christian. Last year, after Francis’ death, Trump posted an image showing himself as pope, prompting outrage from many Catholics.
But Trump’s attacks on Leo have gone well beyond his swipes at Francis.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-posts-ai-image-himself-jesus-like-figure-drawing-outrage-2026-04-13/

Over 1,000 filmmakers, actors and industry professionals signed an open letter opposing Warner Bros Discovery’s ​proposed $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance, warning it ‌would reduce competition and deepen consolidation in the U.S. media sector.

• Actors including Jane Fonda, Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo were among the ​signatories to the letter, which said the merger would ​result in fewer opportunities for creators, pressure on ⁠jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs and less ​choice for audiences.
• Paramount (PSKY.O), and Warner Bros (WBD.O), did not immediately respond ​to requests for comment.
• The letter, released on Monday, stated that prior waves of consolidation have already put the industry under pressure, reducing the ​number of films produced and released and narrowing the ​range of stories that receive financing and distribution.
• The proposed Paramount-Warner Bros combination would bring together ‌two ⁠of Hollywood’s largest studios and content libraries while uniting streaming platforms Paramount+ and HBO Max.
• The companies are planning to fold their streaming services into a single platform.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/hollywood-stars-sign-open-letter-opposing-paramount-warner-bros-deal-2026-04-13/

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the price of oil and gasoline may remain high through November’s midterm elections, ​a rare acknowledgement of the potential political fallout from his decision to attack Iran six weeks ago.
“It could be, or the same, or maybe a little ‌bit higher, but it should be around the same,” Trump, who is in Miami for the weekend, told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo” when asked whether the cost of oil and gas would be lower by the fall.

The average price for regular gas at U.S. service stations has exceeded $4 per gallon for most of April, according to data from GasBuddy. Average U.S. gas prices in February hovered just ​below $3 per gallon, and over the past year never exceeded $3.25 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.
Trump’s comments on Sunday came after weeks of asserting that the spike ​in prices is a short-term phenomenon, though his top advisers are cognizant of the war’s economic impacts, officials have said.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump ⁠announced on social media that the U.S. Navy would blockade the Strait of Hormuz and intercept any ship that paid a crossing fee to Iran, after marathon talks between the ​U.S. and Iran in Pakistan over the weekend did not yield a peace deal.

“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” he wrote on ​Truth Social media platform.
Several hours after Trump’s post, U.S. Central Command said the blockade would be limited to ships going to and from Iranian ports. Ships entering and exiting non-Iranian ports will not be stopped by U.S. forces, CENTCOM said.
A U.S. blockade may add more uncertainty to the eventual resolution of the conflict, which is currently subject to a tenuous two-week ceasefire. The new tactic is in response ​to Iran’s own closure of the strait’s critical shipping lanes, which has caused global oil prices to skyrocket about 50%.
Later on Sunday, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who led ​Iran’s delegation in the talks, posted on social media that a blockade would lead to higher U.S. gas prices. “Enjoy the current pump figures,” he wrote on X, alongside a map showing gas prices ‌in Washington. “With ⁠the so-called ‘blockade’, Soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas.”

UNPOPULAR WAR HITS TRUMP’S APPROVAL

The war began on February 28, when the U.S. launched a joint bombing campaign with Israel against Iran. The scope quickly expanded as Iran and its allies attacked nearby countries, while Israel targeted Hezbollah with massive strikes in Lebanon.
The war has buffeted global financial markets and caused thousands of civilian deaths, mostly in Iran and Lebanon.
Trump’s political standing at home has suffered, with polls showing the war is unpopular among most Americans, who are frustrated by rising gasoline prices.
The president’s approval rating ​has hit the lowest levels of his ​second term in office, raising concern among ⁠Republicans that his party is poised to lose control of Congress in the midterm elections. A Democratic majority in either chamber could launch investigations into the Trump administration, while blocking much of his legislative agenda.

U.S. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the ​Senate Intelligence Committee, questioned the strategy behind Trump’s planned blockade.
“I don’t understand how blockading the strait is going to somehow push ​the Iranians into opening ⁠it,” he told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/trump-says-us-start-blockading-strait-hormuz-2026-04-12/

Jennifer Lopez definitely had her fans getting loud at Coachella 2026.

The singer, 56, did a surprise performance Saturday during David Guetta’s set to perform her new song, “Save Me Tonight,” which Guetta produced.

Lopez hit the stage in style, wearing a plunging silver high-cut bodysuit that showed off her fit physique.

Adding to the drama of the look, she wore a feathery green jacket over it that she later shucked off, and rocked over-the-knee boots.

The brunette bombshell sang into a bedazzled mic as the crowd cheered loudly.

The surprise performance was Lopez’s first time performing at the annual music festival in Indio, California.

Lopez has been busy performing nonstop thanks to her Las Vegas residency.

Last month, she poked fun at her divorce from Ben Affleck when she called up a fan at her show to the stage and he revealed his name was Ben.

Lopez hilariously reacted with an “ugh!” and made a sour face before laughing and ushering the fan behind the curtain.

TMZ reported Friday that Affleck, 53, gifted Lopez his entire share of their $60 million mansion in Beverly Hills, California, that they bought when they were married.

The former couple reportedly modified their property settlement agreement, which shows a “transfer of property among spouses,” and sourced told the outlet that Affleck gave Lopez his entire stake of the property at no cost.

Affleck and Lopez bought the massive mansion for $60.85 million back in June 2023.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/04/12/celebrity-news/jennifer-lopez-makes-surprise-coachella-debut-at-56-in-plunging-bodysuit/

A Southwest Airlines crew touchingly honored a 2-year-old “hero” passenger with a heartwarming pre-flight announcement during his final journey home from New York after grueling cancer treatments.

The boy, only identified by the name Cruz, was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma last year, and he and his parents had been traveling on the airline back and forth from their home in San Diego, Calif., to New York for treatment for him, according to NBC News.

On Cruz’s final flight home after he was declared cancer-free in March, the attendants on the plane took a moment to address “a very special passenger on board.”

“We have a young hero named Cruz, who is 2 years old. He has been battling a very rare form of cancer. He is now officially cancer-free!” one of the flight attendants announced over the speakers, according to a video shared by Southwest.

Cruz looked between his parents as he slowly realized the praise was for him.

“We are so honored to be able to fly you home. We’re so very proud of you. You’re very strong and brave,” the attendant told the child.

Cruz’s parents told NBC News that “the emotions kind of all hit” when the cabin erupted in applause.

“[Cruz] felt recognized. He was excited,” his father said.

His mother added, “He even said, ‘I’m strong. They’re talking about me — I’m strong.’ ”

The crew also separately asked passengers to write “words of encouragement” for Cruz.

Dozens of travelers, all total strangers to Cruz, scrawled their congratulations on napkins, which were collected and gifted to the toddler.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/04/12/us-news/southwest-crew-surprises-2-year-old-cancer-patient-with-tribute/

One person has died in Saturday’s “war zone” mass shooting at a Chick-fil-A in Union Township, NJ, according to authorities.

Officials said six other people suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the attack — which has the grim distinction of being the 100th mass shooting in the US so far this year.

The Union County Prosecutor’s Office said the shooting “does not appear to be a random act of violence.’’ But it did not offer a motive for the violence.

No arrests have yet been made, and authorities are still hunting down the perpetrator or perpetrators, officials said.

The bloody incident unfolded just before 9 p.m. at the fast-food chain’s Route 22 location, which was locked down Sunday as investigators continued to comb the scene for evidence.

A man who said his girlfriend works at the location told CBS that a group of masked men barged into the restaurant and fired multiple shots after forcing their way behind the counter.

One worker’s father described the scene as a “war zone.”

Dramatic video from the shooting showed a masked gunman sprinting away from the eatery through the parking lot, with the dashcam also picking up several terrified customers fleeing for their lives.

Detectives were spotted entering and leaving the Chick-fil-A location Sunday afternoon, but none of them were willing to speak.

Several men in hazmat suits were carrying cardboard boxes with big orange “biohazard” stickers on them.

A Lyft driver named Martin said he heard at least seven shots as he drove by while finishing a trip.

“I finished my trip over there, in the return zone. I heard the shots. When I finished the trip, I go to Chick-fil-A to buy two burgers — I see the police, I heard the shots very close,” he told ABC7.

On Sunday, Ben Wegner, who was working at Botera Cannabis across the street from the shooting, told CBS News, “Last night, around 8:20 p.m., 8:25 p.m., there was a lot of commotion on 22, a lot of people running in all sorts of different directions.

“When I came in this morning to review some of the footage, it was craziness,” he said.

The bloodshed marked the country’s 100th mass shooting — or violent event where four or more people are wounded or killed — since the beginning of the year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The most recent past three years in which data was available — 2023, 2022 and 2021 — all reached the horrific milestone by March.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/04/12/us-news/1-dead-in-nj-chick-fil-a-mass-shooting-after-masked-gunmen-storm-restaurant/

JUSTIN Bieber took to the stage for his first-ever Coachella headline set – but fans were left divided after he sang along to songs on his laptop.

The celeb-studded desert party kicked off on April 10 and the Go Baby hitmaker was the star of the show on Day Two – yet fans were quick to note his quirky approach.

Justin, 32, followed on from Sabrina Carpenter’s glitzy glam Friday night set with a more low-key offering, appearing on stage at 11:25pm in a peach hoodie, black shorts and boots.

Yet he came armed with his laptop and appeared to be performing his set while searching his tracks on his laptop, letting YouTube choose the algorithm.

He kicked off his set with 2025 track All I Can Take before following it up with Speed Demon and First Place.

He gave a sweet nod to wife Hailey – who made the most of her husband’s “Bieberchella” take-over by hosting her brand Rhode’s first ever desert pop up – with a rendition of track Go Baby.

The tune celebrates the model, businesswoman and mum’s iconic status and references her Rhode brand with the lyrics “lip gloss on it”.

His recent tunes Walking Away and Petting Zoo also took precedence over some of his classic tracks including sorry.

Though the 26-track set, on a stage filled with smoke and a sloping grey stage, did see a spot for 2010 crowd-pleaser Baby and 2021 tune Stay, with The Kid LAROI making a surprise appearance for their duet.

Not to mention a slot for the bubblegum pop tune, Beauty And A Beat.

Referring to his back catalogue he told fans: “Man, tonight is such a special night but I feel like we gotta take you guys on a bit of a journey”.

He proved true to his word when he duetted with a younger version of himself – played out on a huge screen – for track With You.

He also delighted with covers of Neyo’s So Sick and Chris Brown tune With You – the latter of which saw Justin rocket to fame when his initial cover was discovered.

During the set, he praised the “beautiful faces” in the audience and told them “I love you guys so much”.

He also acknowledged the live YouTube audience, urging them to get involved and pick out the songs.

Yet when he tapped away on the laptop, he also experienced a few buffering issues.

After he included some of his best-known tunes into the mix, fans were quick to take to X to show their support.

One wrote on the social media site: “I feel like Justin Bieber is healing his inner child with this Coachella performance right now and it’s genuinely beautiful to see.

“Seeing him look at his younger self with nothing but love?? Like I’ve never seen him this relaxed and happy performing”.

A second posted: “This Justin Bieber set is goated wow”.

A third then wrote: “JUSTIN BIEBER REALLY PLAYED BEAUTY AND A BEAT IRL @ COACHELLA. (I MIGHT’VE CRIED)”

One then surmised: “Justin Bieber is paying himself a tremendous tribute at #Coachella”.

Yet others were left divided, and one put: “‘Justin Bieber headlined Coachella just to not play any of his classics lmao”.

Another mused: “Justin Bieber got paid 10 million just to walk around this damn stage??”

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/16212279/justin-bieber-coachella-2026-comeback-hailey-hiatus/

THE father of a 16-year-old girl who was viciously stabbed over 50 times by two classmates whom she considered her best friends has blasted his daughter’s killers’ cushy lives behind bars.

For Dave Neese, the joyous memories of raising his daughter Skylar Neese remain ingrained in his mind nearly 14 years after his only child was lured out of her home and left for dead in a wooded area.

The horrific 2012 murder of Skylar rocked her small town of Star City, West Virginia, after her close friends Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf were charged and convicted of her gruesome killing.

Eddy is serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 15 years, while Shoaf was sentenced to 30 years with a chance of parole after 10 years.

But 12 years into her sentence, Shoaf will have another chance at parole in June after being denied freedom twice by a parole board.

Neese, 63, has accepted the fact that one of his daughter’s killers will eventually be released from prison, but railed against justice system.

“Those two little witches that did this – I like to say they’re getting what they’re supposed to get, but they’re not,” Neese told The U.S. Sun.

“One of them will be released in two years. Is that justified? To take a human life and do 15 years in jail?

“Rachel will be released in 2028 because her sentence is over. She got 30 years.

“They said that it will be a 30-year sentence and I said, oh that’s good, I’ll be dead and gone by then.

“And later on, they tell me it’s a day for a day – get a day of good time for each day you spent, so that’s only 15 years and that is preposterous. It’s stupid.

“I don’t understand where the justice system is going. It’s going straight to hell is where it’s going.”

West Virginia Department of Corrections offers good time credit to inmates with a well-behaved track record, or who enroll in programs like substance abuse treatment, educational programs, anger management, and life skills.

Inmates could have their sentences reduced by one day for every one day served with good behavior.

An exasperated Neese voiced his frustration that Shoaf and Eddy are being housed in the same prison that has been commonly referred to as “Camp Cupcake.”

“When I think of prison I think of hard time,” Neese said about Shoaf and Eddy’s imprisonment at Lakin Correctional Center, a minimum-security prison where celebrities like Martha Stewart were once held.

Neese said he’s seen photos of Shoaf and Eddy from behind bars that appear to show them dolled up with their hair and makeup done.

“They show me pictures now of Rachel and Shelia in their orange jumpsuits, or brown, and they got their hair done and makeup on, like what the hell is this prison,” the irate father said.

Inmates have access to secured handheld tablets where they can access educational materials, music, games, email, and video visits, according to the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security.

The tablets are an incentive for prisoners who display good behavior.

“It’s not supposed to be a walk in the park. They call it camp cupcake for a reason,” Neese added.

“Martha Stewart was there, and they’ve never heard of a place that’s horrible. I just don’t think the punishment fit the crime.

“They get fan mail in jail; you gotta remember there’s people just like them.

“They get fan mail. People send them money, people send them games to play on their X-Boxes and whatever else they have in their cell.

“Is that prison? That’s not prison. That’s a day camp. The only thing they can’t do is go home.”

Neese acknowledged that not a day goes by that he does not think about Skylar and the joy it was raising her throughout her 16 years of life.

“Skylar was truly a joy to raise. She was a good kid. She had a heart of gold,” Neese told The U.S. Sun.

“She never did really anything bad. She did normal stuff, sneaking out of her window and stuff like that, but that stuff eventually cost her her life.

“And no fault of hers, the fault of sickos.”

Skylar, who was a sophomore at University High School in Morgantown at the time of her death, was last seen climbing out of her bedroom window just after midnight on July 6, 2012, and jumping into a vehicle that was being driven by Eddy and Shoaf, both 16.

The teenagers were inseparable; Eddy had known Skylar since childhood, and Shoaf joined their tight-knit circle during their freshman year of high school.

However, what Skylar did not know was that for months Eddy and Shoaf had been planning to kill her and arranged to carry out the sinister act that evening.

Eddy and Shoaf drove Skylar to a wooded area near the Pennsylvania border over an hour away from Star City, where together they stabbed her over 50 times in the neck and back with kitchen knives.

Star City police and the FBI launched a large-scale search for Skylar after her father reported her missing, but months went by without any significant leads.

After several months, the investigation took a major turning point after police obtained Eddy and Shoaf’s phone records, showing major inconsistencies in their talks with investigators about what routes they took on the night Skylar disappeared.

Data showed the two girls’ phones had been in Blacksville, West Virginia, around 4:00am on the night Skylar was last seen, when the two said they were home asleep.

Police then obtained security footage in the area where they spotted a car matching Shelia’s vehicle description at a Sheetz gas station around midnight, heading in the direction of Blacksville.

But while the FBI continued to gather evidence, Shoaf eventually cracked and confessed to authorities how she and Eddy repeatedly stabbed Skylar dozens of times, killing her, and led investigators to her remains.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16190120/skylar-neese-hulu-rachel-shoaf-shelia-eddy/

BBC film critics Caryn James and Nicholas Barber pick their cinema highlights of the year so far – from a touching sci-fi blockbuster to a wilfully provocative comedy-drama starring Zendaya.

1. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

In 2002, director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland helped to revive the zombie-apocalypse sub-genre with 28 Days Later. In 2025, they did it again with 28 Years Later. Amazingly, this sequel to the latter is even better. Scripted by Garland, with Nia DaCosta taking over as director, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple delivers all of the gore and terror you want from a zombie film, but it’s wonderfully idiosyncratic, too. It constructs its own elaborate folk-horror mythos; features the unlikely buddy-comedy pairing of a kindly mad scientist (Ralph Fiennes) and a hulking cannibal (Chi Lewis-Parry); and it’s uncompromisingly British in its references, from its cheeky use of Duran Duran and Iron Maiden songs to its unforgettable villain (Jack O’Connell), a cult leader inspired by notorious television presenter and sex offender Jimmy Savile. An eccentric masterpiece. (NB)

2. My Father’s Shadow

Set in Nigeria in 1993, Akinola Davies’s film about a father and his two small sons is eloquent, warm and fiercely honest as it moves gracefully from the personal to the political. Sope Dirisu gives a quiet, strong, immensely moving performance as the father, who spends most of his time away working to support the family. With pitch-perfect intimacy, the story follows him through a single day as he takes his sons along to Lagos, where they go to his workplace and he tries to get the money he’s owed. Their day gradually reveals the tumultuous backdrop of the presidential election, the results of which are nullified by a military dictatorship. The director and his brother, Wale Davies, wrote the film loosely based on their childhood memories, but its achievement goes beyond that. Winner of the Bafta for outstanding British debut, it stunningly captures the bold colours of Lagos. Its sophisticated narrative gives us the children’s perspective. But it also lets us see the father’s concern and the danger all around, with militia on the streets, which we understand far better than the boys do. There is not a false step, right through to the film’s heartbreaking coda. (CJ)

3. Hoppers

Pixar returns to form with a focused, fizzily energetic cartoon based on a conceit as old as big-screen animation itself: talking animals. The heroine of Hoppers, Mabel (voiced by Piper Curda), is an admirably tough and determined schoolgirl who has her mind “hopped” into a robotic beaver, a procedure which somehow allows her to understand animals’ conversations (just go with it). She uses this fantastic ability to rally her furry friends against a corrupt mayor (Jon Hamm), but what happens when they go too far? Parents beware: Daniel Chong’s film has nightmarish elements towards the end, but overall it’s a sharply plotted, gloriously silly adventure that everyone can enjoy. It also has the kind of frank environmental message which live-action blockbusters tend to avoid. (NB)

4. Wuthering Heights

Emerald Fennell’s fearless reinvention of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel is not for Brontë purists, but it is an exhilarating take on the book and a striking example of Fennell’s typical artistry and daring. Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are fiery as Cathy and Heathcliff, the classic lovers made for each other but separated by class. Their connection is at once frankly sexual, romantic and caustic in the cruelty they often display toward each other. With that cruelty, Fennell restores the vehemence often overlooked in Brontë adaptations. Departing from prettified period pieces, the film’s visual style is an enticing kaleidoscope of colour and fashion. Fennell drops in some comic moments, and at times dares to be over the top (Heathcliff on horseback, Elordi’s bad wig flying in the wind) but its excesses are a small price to pay for such ambition. However much Fennell toys with the details – and why not? the book still exists – she captures the essential enduring passion of Wuthering Heights and its class-bound time. (CJ)

5. Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary is an unusual science-fiction blockbuster in that it’s mostly about people using their brains to solve problems. Yes, one of those people is an alien made out of rocks, and, yes, there’s an action-packed space-walking set piece, but the film’s main concerns, for over two-and-a-half hours, are knowledge, discussion and painstaking research. Does that approach sound a bit dry and academic? If so, rest assured that Project Hail Mary is touching and inspiring – and surprisingly fun. Adapted from a novel by Andy Weir, the author of The Martian, it’s directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who take a complicated, potentially bleak narrative and make it as fast-paced and cheerful as their animated hit The Lego Movie. Meanwhile, Ryan Gosling brings all of his goofball charm to the role of an amnesiac biologist who is trying to save the world. (NB)

6. Two Prosecutors

This bracing drama from the acclaimed Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa is set in 1937, during the height of Stalin’s purges of his political enemies, and it wilfully echoes the creeping authoritarianism of today. The hero is Kornyev, an idealistic young Soviet lawyer, who receives a clandestine message written in blood from a political prisoner: the old man wants to reveal the torture he and so many others have been subjected to. The film unfolds with eerie calm and the feel of a low-boil thriller as Kornyev visits the prisoner and tries to circumvent the corrupt prison administrators and his own bosses to expose the injustice, naively believing that is still possible. Loznitsa, whose career includes documentaries and features, brings a master’s eye to this visceral, harrowing story. As Kornyev spends time in the prison warden’s austere waiting room, the scene conveys the claustrophobia and fear of the period. That is just the start of a tense, increasingly Kafkaesque journey that captures the inescapable, everyday grip of a dictatorship. (CJ)

7. Dead Man’s Wire

Gus Van Sant’s blackly comic thriller tells the stranger-than-fiction true story of Tony Kiritsis, an Indianapolis man who kidnaps the mortgage broker he blames for his financial woes. Kiritsis then becomes a minor celebrity by phoning a local radio station to update listeners on his state of mind. The media circus and the 1970s setting are reminiscent of Sidney Lumet’s 1975 classic, Dog Day Afternoon, which could be why that film’s star, Al Pacino, has a small role. But Dead Man’s Wire is carried by Bill Skarsgård, who is terrific as the shotgun-wielding kidnapper. He adds farcical humour and pathos to a nerve-racking situation, but it’s left to the viewer to decide who to sympathise with – Kiritsis or his traumatised hostage (Dacre Montgomery). (NB)

Source : https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260409-the-best-films-of-2026

An airstrike on a market in Yobe, in northeastern Nigeria, has left scores of people dead and wounded, though details remain unclear. The military said it conducted a “precision” strike on a known terrorist enclave.

Over 100 people were killed in an airstrike on a Jilli village market in northeast Nigeria, Amnesty International said on Sunday, citing survivors of the bombing.

“Witnesses said three military jets fired on the market yesterday. Emergency section of Geidam General Hospital had so far received 35 people with severe injuries,” the international human rights watchdog said in an online post.

“We are in touch with people that are there, we spoke with the hospital,” Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International’s Nigeria director, told the AP news agency.

“We spoke with the person in charge of casualties, and we spoke with the victims,” he said. “We have their pictures and they include children,” he said.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/nigeria-many-dead-after-military-bombs-village-market/a-76756309

While acknowledging that the marathon negotiations in Pakistan had gone “well” and “most points were agreed to,” Trump said Tehran had refused to concede on the issue of its nuclear programme

US President Donald Trump has ordered a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in response to Iran’s “unyielding” refusal to give up its nuclear ambitions during peace talks in Islamabad.

While acknowledging that the marathon negotiations in Pakistan had gone “well” and “most points were agreed to,” Trump said Tehran had refused to concede on the issue of its nuclear programme.

“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

“Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!” he said.

US Vice President JD Vance left Pakistan without a deal after weekend talks with a team led by Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf – the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Tehran’s delegation also included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

“We leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it,” Vance told reporters.

In two lengthy posts on Truth Social, Trump slammed Iran for promising to open the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes, and “knowingly” failing to deliver.

“They say they put mines in the water, even though all of their Navy, and most of their ‘mine droppers,’ have been completely blown up. They may have done so, but what ship owner would want to take the chance?” Trump said.

Iran had blocked the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel launched a bombing campaign against the Islamic nation. On Saturday, the US military announced that two US warships had transited the strait at the start of a mine clearance operation.

Iran denied the claim, saying it prevented the US warships from crossing the strait.

The USS Frank E Peterson and USS Michael Murphy, both Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, entered the strait on April 11 as part of what the US Central Command (CENTCOM) described as a mission to set conditions for clearing sea mines laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

“Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper said.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/iran-war-latest-news-in-big-escalation-us-says-will-block-strait-of-hormuz-after-iran-talks-fail-11347213?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

President Donald Trump said on Sunday the U.S. Navy would start blockading the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes after marathon talks with Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war, jeopardizing ​a fragile two-week ceasefire.
The U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces would begin implementing the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) on Monday.

It ‌would be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” a CENTCOM statement on X said.
U.S. forces would not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports, and additional information would be provided to commercial mariners through a formal notice prior to the start of the blockade, it said.
Trump said in a post on social media the U.S. would take action against ​every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran, and begin destroying mines that he said the Iranians had dropped in the Strait, a choke point for about 20% of ​global energy supplies that Iran has blocked.
“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump wrote, adding: “Any Iranian who fires at ⁠us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards responded to Trump by warning that military vessels approaching the Strait will be considered a ceasefire breach and dealt with harshly and decisively, underlining the ​risk of a dangerous escalation.
Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who led his country’s delegation to the talks along with Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, said Trump’s new threats would have no effect on Iran.
“If you fight, we will ​fight, and if you come forward with logic, we will deal with logic,” he said in comments carried by state media.
The weekend talks in Islamabad, which followed the announcement of a ceasefire on Tuesday, were the first direct U.S.-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

IRAN BEMOANS ‘MAXIMALISM, SHIFTING GOALPOSTS, AND BLOCKADE’
Araqchi said Iran had engaged in good faith but had “encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade” when just inches away from an “Islamabad MoU.”
“Zero lessons earned,” he added. “Good will begets good ​will. Enmity begets enmity.”
Speaking after the talks, Vice President JD Vance, who headed the U.S. delegation, said: “The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more ​than it’s bad news for the United States of America.”

Six weeks of fighting has killed thousands, roiled the global economy and sent oil prices soaring as Iran prevented traffic through the Strait. Oil prices jumped above $100 per barrel early on Monday.
Trump said on ‌Sunday the price ⁠of oil and gasoline may remain high through November’s midterm elections, a rare acknowledgement of the potential political fallout from the war.
A few hours after Trump’s comments, Qalibaf took to social media to post a map of Washington-area gasoline prices and the comment: “Enjoy the current pump figures. With the so-called ‘blockade’, Soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas.”
The dollar jumped against other major currencies on Sunday, as investors sought the relative safety of the currency after the talks failed to yield a deal, plunging markets into a seventh week of uncertainty.
MORE NEGOTIATIONS?
In an interview with Fox News after his post about the Strait, Trump nevertheless said he believed Iran would continue to negotiate and called the discussions “very friendly.”
“I do ​believe they’re going to come to the table on ​this, because nobody can be so stupid as ⁠to say, ‘We want nuclear weapons,’ and they have no cards,” Trump told Fox News from his golf course near Miami, Florida.
Trump also said NATO allies he has criticized for failing to back the war he launched along with Israel on February 28 wanted to help with the operation in the Strait.
There was no immediate comment from Washington’s ​allies.
A U.S. official said Iran had rejected Washington’s call for an end to all uranium enrichment, the dismantling of all major enrichment facilities and the transfer ​of highly enriched uranium.
The two sides ⁠also failed to reach agreement on the U.S. demand that Iran cease funding for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis as well as fully open the Strait, the official added.
Qalibaf blamed the U.S. for not winning Tehran’s trust, despite his team offering “forward-looking initiatives.” Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, who discussed the talks in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Tehran wanted “a balanced and fair agreement.”

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-iran-talks-pause-now-disagreements-remain-2026-04-11/

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle posed beside fellow A-listers during a Friday night Netflix event.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were photographed attending Netflix’s BEEF Season 2 Montecito Tastemaker at a private residence in Montecito, California.

Throughout the evening, the couple posed alongside Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and his wife, Nicole Avant.

In another photo, Markle posed with Sarandos before closely hugging his wife for another pic.

The royals also rubbed shoulders with Katy Perry and her boyfriend, former Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, at the party. Others at the fête included Oscar Isaac, Charles Melton and Nick Kroll.

The couple’s outing came the same day Page Six confirmed Harry had been sued by his former charity, Sentebale, for libel and slander following an internal dispute with the charity’s chairwoman.

Mark Dyer, who served as a trustee of Sentebale before Harry and Dr. Sophie Chandauka’s falling out, was also sued.

The board of trustees and the executive director of Sentebale confirmed the charity had “commenced legal proceedings” against Harry and Dyer over a “coordinated adverse media campaign” that began in March 2025.

They alleged in a statement that the pair “caused operational disruption and reputational harm to the charity, its leadership, and its strategic partners” which “resulted in significant viral impact and triggered an onslaught of cyber-bullying directed at the charity and its leadership.”

However, a spokesperson for both the Duke of Sussex and Dyer told Page Six that the pair “categorically reject” Sentebale’s “offensive and damaging claims.”

“It is extraordinary that charitable funds are now being used to pursue legal action against the very people who built and supported the organisation for nearly two decades, rather than being directed to the communities the charity was created to serve,” the spokesperson noted.

Harry co-founded Sentebale — which focuses on ​helping young HIV and AIDS victims in Lesotho ​and Botswana — in his mom Princess Diana’s honor in 2006.

However, in March 2025, he resigned after butting heads with Chandauka. Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, co-founder of Sentebale, and the board of trustees followed suit shortly after.

“With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organization until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees,” Harry and Seeiso said in a joint statement at the time.

“It is devastating that the relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair,” they added.

Chandauka then reported Harry and the trustees to the regulatory Charity Commission for England and Wales over shocking allegations of bullying and harassment.

Source: https://pagesix.com/2026/04/11/royal-family/prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-step-out-for-star-studded-event-as-he-faces-shocking-lawsuit/

Netanyahu says Lebanon had approached Israel regarding a potential peace deal and he had given his approval on two conditions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday (Apr 11) that the joint US-Israeli campaign against Iran had succeeded in “crushing” Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Netanyahu’s comments came as Iranian and US officials held two rounds of face-to-face talks in Pakistan in a bid to end the Middle East war, with a third round expected later on Sunday, Iranian state TV reported.

“We have succeeded in crushing the nuclear programme, and crushing the missile programme,” Netanyahu said in a televised statement, adding that the war against Tehran had also weakened Iran’s leadership and its regional allies.

“We have reached a situation in which Iran no longer has a single functioning enrichment facility.”

Netanyahu said the US and Israel had prevented Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb by launching a war in June 2025, followed by the current campaign that began on Feb 28.

He said the latest war was launched after intelligence indicated that the now deceased Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei had sought to expand the country’s nuclear and missile programmes even after the June 2025 war.

“He sought to bury both missile production and nuclear production deep, deep beneath a mountain, in a way that even B-2 aircraft could not reach. Once again, we could not stand by. We acted,” Netanyahu said.

“Most of its missile production capacity has disappeared. They still have missiles, they still have stockpiles, but it is shrinking.”

He said there were “enormous achievements” in the war effort.

“They are reflected in this weakened regime, which is now even seeking a ceasefire,” he said.

Netanyahu added that, for decades, Iran’s leadership and its allies had threatened Israel.

“They wanted to strangle us, and (now) we are strangling them. They threatened us with annihilation, and now they are fighting for survival.”

On Lebanon, Netanyahu said the country had approached Israel regarding a potential peace deal.

“In the past month, it has reached out several times to begin direct peace talks,” Netanyahu said.

“I have given my approval, but on two conditions: we want the dismantling of Hezbollah’s weapons, and we want a real peace agreement that will last for generations.”

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/israel-pm-netanyahu-says-war-succeeded-in-crushing-iran-nuclear-missile-programmes-6051291

Taiwan’s defence ministry said on Saturday (Apr 11) that it spotted 16 Chinese warplanes operating near the island the previous day, around the same time China’s president was meeting the Taiwanese opposition leader.

Late on Friday morning, Chinese President Xi Jinping met Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of Taiwan’s largest opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT) in Beijing, where Xi said he “absolutely would not tolerate” independence for Taiwan, which China views as its own territory.

Cheng has portrayed her visit as a reconciliation mission to lessen tensions, and told Xi she looked forward to the KMT and Communist Party advancing the “institutionalisation” of peace across the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan’s defence ministry, in its daily report on Chinese military activity in the previous 24 hours, said that 16 Chinese warplanes flew near the island from mid-morning to mid-afternoon on Friday. Xi and Cheng met at 11am.

Shen Yu-chung, a deputy minister at Taiwan’s China-policy-making Mainland Affairs Council, told reporters in Taipei on Saturday that using military coercion against Taiwan as a means of applying pressure for political negotiations has always been China’s “go-to tactic”.

“So on one hand we see them sending out messages of peace, while on the other hand they continue to use military force to pressure Taiwan without letup,” he added.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment.

In Beijing, KMT Vice Chairman Chang Jung-kung said that the key to promoting peace lies in offering Taiwan’s people a choice between peace and reconciliation, or war.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/taiwan-chinese-warplanes-xi-jinping-kuomintang-6050446

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday (Apr 11) accused Israel of failing to “reflect” on allegations of rights abuses by its forces, after Israel decried him for amplifying social media “disinformation”.

The Seoul leader irked Israel’s foreign ministry this week with his comments on a social media video with a caption purporting it showed Israeli soldiers torturing and pushing a “Palestinian kid” off a roof.

“I need to look into whether this is true, and if so, what measures have been taken,” Lee said Friday on X.

AFP was not able to immediately identify the provenance of the video, which has been widely shared on social media.

However, it appeared to show the different angle of an incident captured by AFPTV in the West Bank two years ago, when reporters saw an Israeli soldier use his foot to push the body of an apparently dead adult man off a roof.

In 2024, the White House called the footage “deeply disturbing” and said it had demanded an explanation from Israel amid its intensifying raids on the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.

Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the incident was already “investigated and addressed”.

“President Lee Jae Myung, for some strange reason, chose to dig up a story from 2024 and to cite a fake account that falsely presented it as a current event,” said a ministry social media statement.

“This account is notorious for spreading anti-Israeli disinformation and falsehoods about Israel,” it added.

South Korea’s foreign ministry attempted to defuse the escalating social media confrontation.

In a statement, it said Lee’s post – which drew parallels between alleged Israeli abuses and historical atrocities against Jews and Koreans – was a call to “universal human rights rather than an opinion on any specific issue”.

But on Saturday, Lee issued another pointed social media missive, commenting on a news article detailing Israel’s backlash against his remarks.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/south-korea-lee-jae-myung-clash-israel-human-rights-disinformation-6050526

At least 11 people are known to have died after gunmen targeted civilians at a picnic spot in western Afghanistan.

Provincial officials originally said four people had been killed in the attack in the Enjil district of Herat province on Friday, but later said that seven more people who were critically injured had also died.

No group has claimed responsibility so far.

“Unidentified armed men” riding motorcycles opened fire near the village of Deh Mehri, an interior ministry spokesperson said. The recreational area is usually crowded on Fridays.

A Herat doctor told the BBC that the victims – who were Shia Muslims – had gone to a local shrine for a picnic. Shia Muslims are a minority group in Afghanistan and have been targeted in the past.

Ahmadullah Muttaqi, the provincial head of information and culture for the Taliban government in Herat, said the incident happened at about 15:00 local time (11:30 BST).

“In a terrorist incident, armed men opened fire on residents who had gone to Deh Mehri village in Enjil district for recreation,” he told the BBC.

Muttaqi said four bodies, as well as 15 wounded people – including two women – were taken to the Herat regional hospital.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr51z5p17myo

Hundreds of Islamist militants went on trial with prosecutors securing 386 convictions. Nigeria is in the midst of an insurgency involving extremist militant groups, including Boko Haram.

A court in Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Friday convicted nearly 400 terrorism suspects in a mass trial that took place over four days.

Many of those convicted received prison terms of up to 20 years after appearing before a panel of 10 judges.

The prosecutions, which got underway on Tuesday, are part of a series ‌of trials ⁠involving ⁠Boko Haram and so-called Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) suspects.

Out of 508 cases, 386 convictions secured
“We brought 508 ​cases to court and out of this number, we were able to secure 386 convictions, eight discharges, two acquittals and 112 cases to the next session or phase,” Nigeria’s ​Attorney General, Lateef Fagbemi.

“We have been able to bring justice to them, or bring them to justice. So this is the clear signal that we are sending,” Fagbemi said.

Many suspects pleaded guilty to charges brought against them by the Nigerian government.

Court officials said that International observers, ⁠including representatives from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Amnesty ⁠International, the Nigerian Bar ​Association, monitored the court proceedings to ensure the legal process was fair.

Nigeria’s complex security situation
A 16-year insurgency has ravaged northern Nigeria, killing tens of thousands, displacing two million, and causing major damage to the local economy.

Islamist groups like Boko Haram and its offshoot the so-called Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have been active for nearly two decades.

Their campaign to establish a caliphate in the country has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people and displaced millions across the country’s northeast.

There are also disputes over land and grazing between mostly Muslim Fulani herders and largely Christian farming communities.

These disputes frequently escalate into deadly clashes in the north-central and northwestern part of the country.

Criminal gangs who kidnap for ransom are also active.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/nigeria-terror-trial-nearly-400-terror-suspects-convicted/a-76748309

Russia has continued to pound Ukraine in the hours leading up to a 36-hour pause in its war of aggression. Three Ukrainians were killed overnight and dozens were injured in drone attacks on Odesa, Poltava and Sumy.

Moscow and Kyiv continued to engage in hostilities ahead of a planned Easter ceasefire set to take hold on Saturday afternoon.

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has dragged on into its fifth year, while US efforts to halt the conflict have withered significantly.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly said that Kyiv would pause its defense if Russia stops attacking over the Orthodox Christian holiday.

Moscow, which launched the war on February 24, 2022, has announced that it has ordered a temporary 36-hour break in its assaults between Saturday at 4:00 p.m. local time (1300 GMT) and midnight Sunday, as a “humanitarian gesture.”

Strikes continue ahead of planned Easter truce
Despite the pending break in the action, attacks continued overnight and into Saturday.

Authorities in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, for instance, reported that two people had been killed and several more injured when Russian drones struck residential buildings and a kindergarten in the Black Sea port.

In the central Ukrainian city of Poltava, a “hostile drone attack” killed one person and injured another in a strike that hit a shop and cafe.

Another attack in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy targeted several residential areas, injuring 14 people including a 14-year-old and an 87-year-old.

A resident looks out through his shattered windows following a Russian drone attack in the city of Sumy

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that it had shot down 99 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Drone debris reportedly fell on ⁠an oil ​depot ​in the ​Russian ‌town of Krymsk, causing ‌a fire, local ‌authorities ​said on Saturday, but no information about further damage has been given.

Russia’s ‘humanitarian gesture’ echoes last year’s flawed pause
This weekend’s temporary pause in fighting comes as supposed US efforts to end Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine seem to have evaporated, with the US-Israeli war on Iran now occupying Washington’s attention.

Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a similar ceasefire over the Orthodox holiday, though both sides reported numerous violations.

Once again, both Moscow and Kyiv have vowed to respond to any aggression during this year’s 36-hour intermission.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-attacks-continue-as-orthodox-easter-ceasefire-nears/a-76746629

Iran’s response came after JD Vance cited shortcomings in the talks in Islamabad and said Tehran had chosen not to accept US terms.

Iran on Sunday said that “unreasonable demands” by the United States were behind the deadlock in the talks in Pakistan to end the war in the Middle East.

“The Iranian delegation negotiated continuously and intensively for 21 hours in order to protect the national interests of the Iranian people; despite various initiatives from the Iranian delegation, the unreasonable demands of the American side prevented the progress of the negotiations. Thus the negotiations ended,” Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said on Telegram.

The statement came shortly after US Vice President JD Vance, who was leading the American delegation, said they were leaving Islamabad with their “final and best offer”.

“We’ll see if the Iranians accept it,” he told reporters after multiple rounds of negotiations.

“Bad News For Iran”

JD Vance said Iran had chosen not to accept American terms, including to not build nuclear weapons.

“The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” he said.

“That is the core goal of the president of the United States. And that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations,” he said.

“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America,” Vance said.

He said that the US has made its “red lines very clear”.

Vance also said he spoke with US President Donald Trump “half a dozen times” during the talks, which were the first direct US-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner led the US team, while the Iranian delegation was headed by Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/iran-says-talks-with-us-failed-due-to-their-unreasonable-demands-after-jd-vances-best-final-offer-remark-on-islamabad-war-talks-11345311?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

France begins switching government workstations from Windows to Linux to enhance digital sovereignty.

In a move aimed at enhancing the country’s digital sovereignty, France has announced its decision to move government workstations away from Windows to the open-source operating system (OS), Linux. Formalised during an interministerial seminar on Wednesday (Apr 8), this move follows a directive from Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to reduce ‘extra-European’ digital dependencies and enhance national sovereignty.

The switchover will begin with computers at the French government’s Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs (DINUM), according to a report in TechCrunch. Joining the DINUM in this mission for digital sovereignty are France’s Directorate General for Enterprises (DGE), the National Cybersecurity Agency of France (ANSSI), and the State Procurement Directorate (DAE).

“Regarding the evolution of the workstation, DINUM announces its exit from Windows in favor of workstations running on the Linux operating system,” read the official statement.

“The DINUM will coordinate an interministerial plan to reduce dependence on non-European suppliers. Each ministry (including operators) will be required to formalise its own plan by the fall, focusing on the following areas: workstations, collaborative tools, antivirus software, artificial intelligence, databases, virtualisation, and network equipment.”

French minister for civil service and state reform David Amiel said the initiative was aimed at regaining “control of our digital destiny” by relying less on US tech companies. He said the French government can no longer accept not having control over its data and digital infrastructure.

The decision comes in the backdrop of the French government announcing in January that it would stop using Zoom and Microsoft Teams for video conferencing in favour of French-made Visio, a tool based on the open source end-to-end encrypted video meeting tool Jitsi.

What Is Linux?
Created by Linus Torvalds in 1991, Linux is an open-source OS based on Unix that runs on computers, servers, mobile phones and a wide range of other devices. While Windows has come under intense scrutiny in recent years for its massive bloatware and inefficiency, Linux remains the preferred choice for developers, with the OS powering the majority of the internet.

Linux is free to download and use, with various customised distributions that are tailored and designed for specific use cases or operations.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/feature/french-government-ditching-windows-for-linux-to-reduce-digital-dependency-on-us-tech-11343219?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories

Two US warships have reportedly passed through the Strait of Hormuz, the first such transit since the war with Iran began, as President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States had started “clearing out” the strategic waterway.

Two US Navy warships transited the Strait of Hormuz to begin clearing Iranian-laid mines, US Central Command said Saturday — a claim Tehran denied as the Revolutionary Guards threatened to deal “severely” with military vessels crossing the strategic waterway.

The announcement of the first such transit since the US-Israeli war with Iran began came shortly after President Donald Trump said Washington had started “clearing out” the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes.

“Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” said CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper.

The USS Frank E. Peterson and the USS Michael Murphy are the guided-missile destroyers involved in the operation, but CENTCOM said that “additional US forces including underwater drones” could join the effort in coming days.

Iran “strongly rejected” Washington’s claims that US vessels entered the strait, military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari told state TV.

“The initiative for the passage of any vessel lies with the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he was quoted as saying.

Iranian state broadcaster IRIB later quoted the Revolutionary Guards’ Navy Command as saying: “Any attempt by military vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz will be dealt with severely.”

It added that passage of the strait would only be “granted to civilian vessels under specific conditions.”

Earlier Saturday, Trump said in a social media post that the United States was “starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz.”

He called it “a favor” to countries such as China, Japan and France that “don’t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves.”

Trump insisted that Iran is “LOSING BIG!” in the conflict, while acknowledging that Iranian mines in the strategic strait still pose a threat.

“The only thing they have going is the threat that a ship may ‘bunk’ into one of their sea mines,” Trump wrote.

The key shipping lane off the coast of Iran has been virtually blocked by Tehran since the United States and Israel started bombing Iran on February 28, though reopening the strait was ostensibly a condition of the shaky ceasefire put in place earlier this week.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/2-us-warships-cross-strait-of-hormuz-in-first-such-transit-since-iran-war-began-11343972?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Hungarians vote on Sunday in an election that could end Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s 16-year hold ​on power, rattle Russia and send shockwaves through right-wing circles across the West, including U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House.
Orban, a eurosceptic nationalist, has ‌carved out a model of an “illiberal democracy” seen as a blueprint by Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement and its admirers in Europe.

But many Hungarians have grown increasingly weary of Orban, 62, after three years of economic stagnation and soaring living costs as well as reports of oligarchs close to the government amassing more wealth.
Opinion polls over the last two weeks have shown Orban’s Fidesz party trailing Peter Magyar’s ​upstart centre-right opposition Tisza party by 7-9 percentage points, with Tisza at around 38-41%.
Voting in the election for the 199-seat parliament starts at 6 a.m. ​local time (0400 GMT) and is due to close at 7 p.m.
The vote is being closely watched in Brussels, with many EU peers criticising ⁠Orban, a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a close Trump ally, over what they say is an erosion of Hungary’s democratic rule, media freedom and minority ​rights.

For Hungary’s eastern neighbour Ukraine, an Orban defeat could mean the unblocking of a 90-billion-euro ($105 billion) European Union loan vital for Kyiv’s war effort. It would also deprive Russia of ​its closest ally in the EU.
Orban has cast the election as a choice between “war and peace”. During campaigning, the government blanketed the country with signs warning that Tisza leader Magyar would drag Hungary into Russia’s war with Ukraine, something he strongly denies.
“I am looking forward to Sunday’s election with the best hope,” Orban told supporters in his birthplace Szekesfehervar.
“If we know ourselves well, if we know our ​country well and if we know our own people well, then I must say Hungarians will vote for safety on Sunday,” he added.
PUBLIC DISCONTENT
Orban has won public endorsements ​from the Trump administration – culminating in a visit to Budapest by Vice President JD Vance last week – as well as from the Kremlin and far-right leaders in Europe.

To address a popularity rating of just 8% among under-30s, Orban has scrapped income tax for the youngest workers ​and launched a subsidised mortgage scheme to help first-time buyers onto the housing ladder amid the EU’s steepest rise in ​house prices under his ⁠rule.
But Magyar’s offer of change appears to resonate more.
In a final push in the eastern town of Miskolc on Friday, Magyar said: “This will be a referendum… about our country’s place and our country’s future.”
Analysts caution that the outcome of the vote remains uncertain, citing the number of undecided voters, a redrawing of the electoral map in favour of Fidesz and a ⁠high proportion of ​ethnic Hungarians in neighbouring countries, who mostly support the ruling party.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hungarians-vote-landmark-election-closely-watched-by-eu-russia-us-2026-04-11/

U.S. Vice President JD Vance announced Sunday that Washington and Tehran failed to reach an agreement after intense talks in Islamabad, Pakistan.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance announced Sunday that Washington and Tehran failed to reach an agreement after intense talks in Islamabad, Pakistan. Vance said the Iranian side “chose not to accept” the conditions tabled by the U.S.

The ceasefire talks, mediated by Pakistan, were aimed at ending the six-week war in West Asia and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

While addressing the media, Vance began his remarks by thanking the Pakistan government for hosting the negotiations.

“…Whatever shortcomings in the negotiation, it wasn’t because of the Pakistanis who did an amazing job and really tried to help us and Iranians bridge the gap and get to a deal. We have been at it now for 21 hours and we have had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians. That’s the good news.”

JD Vance said the Washington and Tehran failed to reach an agreement.

“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement. I think that is bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the USA. So, we go back to the US having not come to an agreement…they have chosen not to accept our terms.”

On Tehran’s Nuclear Programme

JD Vance reiterated the U.S.’ stance, saying Iran needs to display an “affirmative commitment” that they would not seek nuclear weapons.

“…The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they (Iran) will not seek a nuclear weapon and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon, that is the core goal of President of the U.S.”.

“That is what we have tried to achieve through these negotiations. Their nuclear program such as it is, the enrichment facilities that they had before have been destroyed. But the simple question is – do we see a fundamental commitment of will for the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon, not just now or not just two years from now but for the long term? We haven’t seen that now, we hope that we will”, added the vice president.

‘We Came Here In Good Faith’

JD Vance stressed the U.S. delegation was “quite flexible”, in terms of negotiating with the Iranian side.

However, the two sides couldn’t arrive at a solution acceptable to them, he said, adding that the American team had come to negotiate in “good faith”.

“…We just could not get to a situation where the Iranians were willing to accept our terms. I think we were quite flexible, we were quite accommodating. The President told us – you need to come here in good faith and make your best efforts to get a deal. We did that. Unfortunately, we were not able to make any headway”, Vance said.

‘Our Final And Best Offer’

Addressing the media briefing, VP JD Vance said what was offered to the Iranians was the U.S.’ “final and best offer”.

He added that the U.S. team was consistently in touch with President Donald Trump, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“We were talking to the President consistently…We also talked to Admiral Cooper (Commander of U.S. Central, Admiral Brad Cooper), to Pete, to Marco, to the entire National Security team…We were consistently in communication with the team because we were negotiating in good faith and we leave here with a very simple proposal – a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We will see if the Iranians accept it”, he said.

Source: https://www.news18.com/world/gave-iran-final-and-best-offer-returning-without-a-deal-vances-full-statement-on-failed-talks-ws-l-10028480.html

The White House considered but decided against a national televised address by President Donald Trump on Tuesday about his ceasefire deal with Iran, with some aides ​and advisers privately voicing concern about potentially overselling the still-nascent agreement, three U.S. officials told Reuters.
The decision suggests a balancing act by the Trump administration, which sought ‌to project early confidence in the deal to pause fighting and open the Strait of Hormuz even as aides recognized its fragility. Discussions about Trump giving a national address have not been previously reported.

Ahead of talks slated to begin on Saturday in Islamabad, analysts say it is far from clear if the ceasefire will translate into a negotiated settlement to the conflict.
The sources said Trump was talked out of making the speech. But the White House, in ​a statement, denied the discussions rose to Trump’s level, saying, “This is fake news. This was never even discussed with the president.”
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ​internal White House deliberations.
Trump ended up announcing the ceasefire in a social media post just hours before a Tuesday evening deadline, after which he ⁠had threatened to destroy Iran’s entire civilization.

The reversal was one of the most sudden wartime U-turns by an American president.
ADVISERS FLAGGED LACK OF CLARITY: SOURCES
One of the sources said Trump was “adamant” about ​delivering the address. The officials said it had been under consideration, but the White House did not move forward with it because details of the ceasefire were still shaky.
Trump’s senior advisers were working ​through what was in the deal and did not think they had enough clarity for the president to address the nation, the sources said.
The previous week, on April 1, Trump delivered a 19-minute prime-time address to Americans, staunchly defending his handling of the war and outlining plans for aggressive strikes on Iran over the next two to three weeks. Another address would have allowed him to explain the change in course.
One senior White House official ​acknowledged internal discussions about Trump addressing the nation on Tuesday night.

“There was chatter about it, but obviously it didn’t come to fruition, and we didn’t alert the networks or anything; it didn’t ​get that far,” the official told Reuters, without confirming Trump was talked out of giving an address.
The ceasefire has halted U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran. But it has not ended the blockade of the Strait ‌of Hormuz, ⁠which has caused the biggest-ever disruption to global energy supplies, or calmed a parallel war waged by Israel against Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The strait remained shut on Friday and Israel traded fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, two disputes which the U.S. and Iran each described respectively as violations of their ceasefire deal on the eve of their first peace talks of the war.
Trump has vented his frustration, posting that Iran was dishonoring the deal and saying earlier on Friday: “The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!”

Still, the U.S. and Iran are sending high-level negotiators to Islamabad for talks ​beginning on Saturday. The U.S. delegation will be ​led by Vice President JD Vance, who ⁠said on Friday the U.S. was willing to negotiate in good faith.
“If they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive,” Vance said.
NO TRUST
Analysts caution there is little trust between the two sides, and Trump’s warning on Tuesday that “a ​whole civilization will die tonight” if his demands were not met could have done more harm.
Trump, in his first term, pulled out of ​a 2018 nuclear deal his ⁠predecessor negotiated with Iran, and then in 2025 bombed Iran’s nuclear sites during negotiations. Trump launched the war against Iran on February 28, even as mediator Oman was citing hopes for a negotiated solution.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/white-house-opted-against-televised-address-about-iran-ceasefire-us-officials-2026-04-10/

Wang, on a two-day trip to North Korea, said the countries’ relations were entering a “new phase” following a summit last year between Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un voiced support for China’s push to build a “multipolar world” and called for deeper ties between the traditional allies during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, state media said on Saturday (Apr 11).

During the meeting on Friday, Kim said his government will fully support Chinese efforts to achieve territorial integrity based on its “one-China principle”, a reference to Beijing’s official position that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, according to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim also outlined North Korea’s position on unspecified regional and international issues of “mutual concern” and said sustained development of ties between the two countries has become more crucial in the current geopolitical environment, KCNA said.

Wang, on a two-day trip to North Korea, said the countries’ relations were entering a “new phase” following a summit last year between Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“In the face of a turbulent and complex international situation, China and North Korea should further strengthen communication and coordination on major international and regional affairs,” Wang told Kim, according to a statement from China’s foreign ministry.

“Without water, there would be no wine,” Virginia de Valle says as she takes me around her family’s 16-hectare (40-acre) vineyard in Mendoza, nestled below the peaks of the Andes mountain range.

Winemakers in Argentina’s wine capital rely on fresh water from the Andes mountains to irrigate their crops. But after Argentine MPs this week passed government reforms to loosen the protection of glaciers, De Valle fears her vineyard’s water supply is under threat.

“The Andes mountains, with their winter snow and glaciers, feed the rivers and streams that flow into the valley to irrigate our crops,” she explains. “This is also the water we consume in our homes. That is why people say ‘Mendoza is the daughter of water’.”

While snow in the Andes mountains is the primary source of water for Mendocinos, in years with especially low rain and snowfall, water from melted glaciers (permanent bodies of dense ice) helps to minimise the impact of droughts – increasingly common in Mendoza – and keep vineyards like De Valle’s fruitful.

“Every drop of water counts,” she says.

It’s not just the semi-arid province of Mendoza that relies on glaciers for water security. There are 16,968 glaciers in Argentina, providing water to 36 river basins across 12 provinces, home to seven million people.

How has the glacier law changed?
Argentina was the first country in the world to have a law that specifically protected its glaciers. Passed in 2010, the law deemed them to be vital water reserves, and so prohibited any damaging commercial activity.

It also protected what’s known as the periglacial environment, which includes things like permafrost – water trapped in frozen soil. Glaciers are recorded on a national inventory by the Argentine Institute of Snow Research, Glaciology and Environmental Sciences (Ianigla).

It will now be the responsibility of the provincial governments to decide whether or not the glaciers in their region are of strategic importance – that is, whether they provide water for human consumption, agriculture, biodiversity, as a source of scientific information, or as a tourist attraction.

If provinces deem that they’re not “strategic” water reserves, they can take them off Ianigla’s national inventory, meaning they will no longer have those environmental protections.

Those in favour of the changes say the 2010 law acted as an unnecessary barrier to extraction projects, and that the development of copper and lithium projects will boost regional economies and the country’s energy transition.

But those against say large-scale mining could alter the flow of rivers coming from the Andes mountains and threaten water security for millions.

‘Hands off the glaciers’

From the vineyards of Mendoza, to the hiking town of El Chaltén in Patagonia, opposition to the modifications is clear, with the campaign slogan: “Los glaciares no se tocan” – hands off the glaciers – sprayed across the country’s walls and pavements.

More than 100,000 people signed up to participate in a public hearing on the changes at Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies in March, though only a fraction of that – less than 400 – were able to speak over the two-day hearing.

“It made clear that it’s not just environmental organisations who were asking for this law not to be amended; it was the people, the public, who were asking for water to continue to be protected,” says Agostina Rossi Serra, a biologist working with environmental group Greenpeace.

An economic opportunity?
President Javier Milei sees the Andes mountains as the key to unlock billions in investment from mining companies, and the governments of mineral-rich provinces say that the previous law stopped them “promoting a sustainable economic development”.

“Argentina doesn’t export even a single gram of copper, while Chile, which shares the same mountain range with us, exports $20bn [£15bn] a year,” Milei – keen to take a metaphorical chainsaw to government regulation – told a business forum in November.

De Valle counters that “Milei doesn’t care about natural resources or how it’s going to end”.

Bosses from mining firms Glencore, Lundin and BHP Group have all visited Milei in the last year and, along with others, are keen to invest around $40bn in Argentina’s untapped copper industry, according to a Bloomberg report.

Some of the regional governments that were keen to see the law amended, including those of Mendoza and San Juan, are from arid and semi-arid areas where water is already a scarce resource, Serra says.

“They are provinces that believe mining development is far more important than ecosystems and the communities themselves,” she tells the BBC.

‘False arguments’
Milei’s party, La Libertad Avanza, says the reform means only glaciers and periglacial environments proven to have a water-related significance will be protected, paving the way for development projects on the rest.

But glaciologist Lucas Ruiz says the amendment is based on “false arguments”.

“The most false part of it all is the claim that there are glaciers that do not contribute to rivers. If it’s a glacier, it has ice and contributes water. It’s very basic,” he says.

Ruiz says the reforms to the law are unclear, and so are the consequences.

“We are left not knowing what criteria will be used, not knowing which technical bodies will be involved, and clearly, any glacier and any periglacial environment could be at risk,” he says.

‘A stark paradox’
But Ruiz, who works as an independent researcher at Ianigla, says there’s a “stark paradox” in the scientific community’s response to the reforms.

“We know that at the rate at which glaciers are melting, it is highly likely that by the end of the century Europe will be almost entirely glacier-free, as will the tropical Andes in Peru and large areas of the Southern Andes,” he explains.

“And the only way to prevent that is for us to reduce our carbon footprint. And if we do not make the energy transition, which cannot be achieved without more copper and lithium, it will not be possible.

“It is a stark paradox, hard to accept, but it is the reality. Because the message from science is that energy transition is necessary,” Ruiz says.

Any mining must be responsible, he adds, where the impact on glaciers and the periglacial environment is thoroughly assessed.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj947487wzyo

As Melania Trump walked up to the White House podium on Thursday, standing where US President Donald Trump had just over a week ago made his address to the nation on Iran, there was absolutely no indication that this would be a jaw-dropping appearance.

There was curiosity, yes, but no one guessed it would be must-see viewing. Not even those most plugged into the administration had any forewarning of the topic, according to officials.

Flanked by US flags, her first sentence jolted those listening. “The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.”

With those words, the Epstein crisis that had plagued the president was once again front and centre thanks to his wife.

Immediately, US cable channels broke away from their coverage on Iran, given the gravity of what was unfolding.

The first lady has always maintained a relatively low profile, strategically selecting her few public events. She hardly shares the same flair for the dramatic – or the desire to shock and awe the press – as her husband.

Reading from a prepared statement, she said she never had a relationship with Epstein or Maxwell, was not introduced to her husband by Epstein, and was unaware of Epstein’s crimes. She ended by calling for public congressional hearings for Epstein survivors to testify to uncover the truth.

If she had stayed to answer any questions, surely the first one would have been: why did she feel the need now, seemingly out of the blue, to distance herself from the convicted sex offender and go on the record for the first time?

Rumours swirled that perhaps she was trying to get ahead of something new, given the general claims she referenced have circulated for years and she’s usually relied on her lawyers to respond.

Ben Affleck has reportedly gifted his ex-wife Jennifer Lopez his entire share of their $60 million mansion for free.

The former couple modified their property settlement agreement, which shows a “transfer of property among spouses,” per TMZ.

The document doesn’t specify the exact nature of the transfer, but on Friday, sources close to the situation told the outlet that Affleck gave Lopez his entire stake of the property at no cost.

Reps for Affleck and Lopez were not immediately available to Page Six for comment.

Affleck and Lopez bought the massive mansion in Beverly Hills, California, for $60.85 million back in June 2023 while they were still married.

The 38,000-square-foot home — which includes a whopping 12 bedrooms, 24 bathrooms and a full basketball court — was supposed to serve as the perfect love nest.

At the time, TMZ reported that the actor and the pop star — who tied the knot in July 2022 — paid in cash for the pad.

But the following June, they put their marital home on the market amid rumors they were heading for a divorce.

Despite reports that the duo were only selling the mansion because Lopez thought the property is “too big for her” and that Affleck “never liked the house,” the singer filed for divorce two months later.

That same summer, Affleck purchased a $20.5 million mansion in the Pacific Palisades to be closer to his kids — Violet, 20, Seraphina, 17, and Samuel, 13 — whom he shares with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner.

Affleck and Lopez finalized their divorce in January 2025 and the future of the home was unclear as it was still sitting on the market.

Lopez bought a $18 million home in Los Angeles the following March for her and her 18-year-old twins, Max and Emme, whom she shares with ex-husband Marc Anthony.

But last summer, Affleck and Lopez took the mansion off the market in a surprising “business decision.”

“While they’ve been hoping to sell the property, they’ve also been hesitant to take a big loss,” an insider told People at the time.

“They lowered the price to get more interest and when this didn’t happen, they were advised to take it off the market,” the source continued. “It was a business decision that they made together.”

Source: https://pagesix.com/2026/04/10/celebrity-news/ben-affleck-gifts-jennifer-lopez-his-portion-of-their-60-million-mansion-for-free-report/

Lawyers for the ex-NYPD cop who fatally tossed a picnic cooler at a drug suspect are mounting a longshot bid to free him as he appeals his manslaughter conviction — and languishes in isolation behind bars.

Former police Sgt. and married dad of three Erik Duran, 38, is currently in protective custody away from other inmates on Rikers Island after he was sentenced Thursday to up to nine years in prison for the 2023 death of Eric Duprey, law-enforcement sources told The Post on Friday.

Duran has access to a television, a small outdoor yard and shower — but little else, including contact with other inmates for his own safety, according to sources.

Food is being brought to him at the dangerous jail. He is expected to be transferred at some point to a state prison, where he will serve his term of three to nine years — a sentence that experts and cops have ripped as “extreme and damaging” to law enforcement.

But Duran’s legal team is trying to convince an appellate court to release the convicted cop from custody as the former officer fights to have his conviction overturned in the controversial case.

“We’re going to be arguing that when all facts are heard, you will see that the judge’s decision was an error and against the weight of the evidence,” one of his lawyers, Arthur Aidala, told The Post of the motion filed Friday.

Duran — who grew up in a violent Bronx neighborhood before becoming a “model’’ cop — threw the cooler at Duprey as the suspect fled on a scooter during an undercover drug sting, causing him to fall and fatally hit his head.

The former cop was slapped with the stiff prison sentence by Bronx Judge Guy Mitchell after he was found guilty of manslaughter at a bench trial in February.

Duran was hauled away immediately after Thursday’s hearing, sparking his lawyers’ desperate attempt to convince a higher court to allow him to be with his wife and kids as they work to get the Appellate Division First Department to review his case.

Barry Kamins, another lawyer for Duran, said the appeals court can choose to free the ex-cop on bail pending the appeal if it’s believed he has a legitimate gripe with Judge Mitchell’s decision.

But former Manhattan prosecutor-turned-defense lawyer Mark Bederow said the chances Duran is let out during the appeal process are “probably not good.”

Source: https://nypost.com/2026/04/10/us-news/nyc-cooler-cop-erik-duran-mounts-bid-for-freedom-pending-appeal/

With baby Arthur too young for the measles vaccine and a sibling due in June, the Otwells grew nervous when the threat of the highly contagious virus started factoring into their grocery run.

“We go to the Costco that was kind of a hotbed,” said John Otwell, who knew about the state health department’s warnings of public exposures at the store. “A lot of people just don’t get it; they think it’s just a cold. It’s not.”

By Arthur’s 9-month checkup, the South Carolina outbreak had exploded into the nation’s worst in more than 35 years, surpassing last year’s in Texas. That meant that under state guidance, Arthur could get his first dose of the MMR vaccine — for measles, mumps and rubella — earlier than the usual 12 to 15 months old. Their new baby won’t be able to get the shot until at least 6 months — a prospect that worries parents of infants wherever measles spreads.

Babies too young to be vaccinated are among the most vulnerable in a measles outbreak. The disease can wreak havoc on their fragile bodies, making them so sick they stop eating and drinking. They can develop pneumonia or brain swelling, and sometimes die.

Babies depend entirely on herd immunity — at least 95% of a community must be vaccinated to prevent measles outbreaks. But dropping vaccination rates have eroded protection in South Carolina and across the nation. In Spartanburg County, the outbreak’s epicenter, less than 90% of students have gotten required vaccines.

“Babies become sitting ducks,” said Dr. Deborah Greenhouse, a Columbia pediatrician. “The burden is on all of us to protect all of us.”

But increasingly, some policymakers and officials push a view of vaccination as an issue of individual freedom and parents’ rights, rather than one of public health to safeguard the population as a whole.

At the federal level, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine crusader, has sought to remake vaccine policy and oversaw billions in public health cuts. And though a temporary ruling from a federal judge has slowed his momentum, a raft of bills has been introduced in states, including South Carolina, that threaten to further reduce vaccination rates.

South Carolina’s measles outbreak, totaling about 1,000 cases, has slowed. But measles is spreading in many states, with 17 outbreaks this year and 48 last year, and the U.S. on the verge of losing its status as a country that has eliminated measles.

Doctors work to protect the youngest against measles
Dr. Jessica Early never thought she’d have to deal with measles, but the pediatrician feared for her patients and her own baby when it popped up in her Greer community. She and other doctors began offering an approved infant MMR dose as early as 6 months old. Her practice also started giving the second MMR dose — usually for ages 4 to 6 years old — early.

To the chagrin of many doctors, no one knows how many South Carolina infants have gotten measles or been hospitalized by it.

State officials will disclose only that 253 of the 997 cases were among children 4 and younger; they say they won’t break cases down further for confidentiality reasons. It’s not uncommon to group statistics this way.

Officials also don’t know exactly how many infants were hospitalized with the virus because, as in some other states, hospitals aren’t required to report measles-related admissions.

A resurfaced video shows Brazilian surfer Tayane Dalazen being bitten by a nurse shark while diving in Fernando de Noronha. She suffered minor injuries but recovered fully. Known to be docile, nurse sharks rarely attack humans, and Dalazen called it an isolated incident, later returning to dive again without fear.

 

Fernando de Noronha: A viral video showing Brazilian surfer and lawyer Tayane Cachoeira Dalazen being bitten by a nurse shark during a dive has resurfaced online, offering a clearer view of the rare incident that took place earlier this year.

The incident occurred in January off the coast of Fernando de Noronha, a popular diving destination known for its marine biodiversity. The newly released footage captures Dalazen diving headfirst into clear blue waters before a nurse shark approaches and briefly bites her leg.

Dalazen Suffers Minor Injuries

Dalazen, 36, sustained minor injuries, including visible bite marks on her thigh, but did not suffer any life-threatening harm. The original video that went viral shortly after the incident was unclear, but the latest footage provides a sharper, front-facing perspective of the encounter, reigniting discussions around human interactions with marine life.

Unlike most communities, the Bajau do not live within fixed national boundaries.

A viral video has brought attention back to the Bajau people — often described as the world’s last true sea nomads — whose lives unfold almost entirely on the ocean, between parts of Indonesia and Malaysia.

The video shared on X shows a glimpse of the Bajau people. The caption reads, “No Country, No Borders — Just Ocean: The Incredible Bajau Tribe. This is the only “country” with no land borders. The Bajau people live their entire lives at sea, between Indonesia and Malaysia. Many are born on boats, grow up on water, and never truly belong to any nation – making them the last true sea nomads of the world. Diving is survival for them. From a young age, they dive 30+ meters without equipment, with bodies adapted to pressure and eyes that see clearly underwater.”

See more

No Country, No Borders — Just Ocean: The Incredible Bajau Tribe…

This is the only “country” with no land borders.🌊

The Bajau people live their entire lives at sea, between Indonesia and Malaysia. Many are born on boats, grow up on water, and never truly belong to any nation -… pic.twitter.com/P6c3ucZJjc

— NancyH (@NancyH_60) April 7, 2026

Unlike most communities, the Bajau do not live within fixed national boundaries. Many are born on boats, grow up at sea and spend most of their lives moving across coastal waters, without a strong attachment to any one country. For generations, the ocean has not just been their livelihood, but their home.

 

In a personal blog, Sam Altman shared that a person allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at his house at 3:45 am.

The home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, where he stays with his family, was hit by a Molotov cocktail. Police have reportedly arrested a 20-year-old in connection with the attack on the AI boss’ luxury San Francisco residence. Following the incident, he reflected on the moment on his personal blog and shared a rare picture of his family.

“I wrote this early this morning and I wasn’t sure if I would actually publish it, but here it is,” Altman tweeted while posting his blog on X.

“Here is a photo of my family. I love them more than anything,” he wrote. It was accompanied by a photo of his husband, Oliver Mulherin, and their child.

“Images have power, I hope. Normally we try to be pretty private, but in this case I am sharing a photo in the hopes that it might dissuade the next person from throwing a Molotov cocktail at our house, no matter what they think about me,” Altman continued,” adding, “The first person did it last night, at 3:45 am in the morning. Thankfully it bounced off the house and no one got hurt.”

Altman suggested that the alleged attack may have been tied to his role in the AI industry and the broader tensions surrounding the technology.

“Words have power too. There was an incendiary article about me a few days ago. Someone said to me yesterday they thought it was coming at a time of great anxiety about AI and that it made things more dangerous for me. I brushed it aside,” he shared.

He further added, “Now I am awake in the middle of the night and pissed, and thinking that I have underestimated the power of words and narratives.”

The suspect is identified as 20-year-old Alejandro Daniel Moreno-Gama, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. He allegedly fled the scene before throwing the fire bomb at Sam Altman’s house.

The San Francisco Police Department shared that about an hour after the incident, the authorities were called to OpenAI’s headquarters on 3rd Street, where a man allegedly threatened to set fire to the building.

The police recognised the person as the same suspect in the Sam Altman’s house incident and took him into custody.

What else did he write?
In the rest of the blog, Altman addressed his beliefs, the rivalry between AI companies and the future.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/us/sam-altman-breaks-silence-shares-rare-family-photo-after-molotov-cocktail-thrown-at-his-home-at-3-45-am-101775870809717.html

When asked what a successful deal with Iran would look like, Donald Trump said, “No nuclear weapon. That’s 99 percent of it.”

Iran and the United States head into high-stakes talks in Islamabad on Saturday with both sides openly wary of each other. While Tehran has reiterated that it approaches negotiations with “goodwill but no trust,” Washington has also signalled caution.

Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Friday night reiterated Tehran’s deep distrust of the United States. According to the Tasnim News Agency, he said, “Our experience of negotiations with the Americans has always been met with failure and breach of promise. They attacked us twice in the middle of the negotiations. We have goodwill but no trust.” Track US-Iran war live updates.

Ghalibaf made the remarks upon arriving in Islamabad, where he is leading a high-level delegation for expected discussions involving the American side. His comments came in response to recent statements by US Vice President JD Vance.

Vance heads to Pakistan
Earlier in the day, Vance said that “If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend the open hand,” but warned that “if they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive,” AFP quoted him as saying.

Vance is travelling to Islamabad along with US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Sharif says ‘make or break’ moment
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described the upcoming negotiations as a difficult but decisive phase.

“A temporary ceasefire has been announced, but now an even more difficult stage lies ahead: the stage of achieving a lasting ceasefire, of resolving complicated issues through negotiations,” he said. “This is that stage which, in English, is called the equivalent of ‘make or break,’” AFP reported.

According to a statement from Pakistan’s foreign office, Ghalibaf’s delegation was received upon arrival by deputy PM Ishaq Dar, chief of defence forces and army chief field marshal Asim Munir, national assembly speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and interior minister Mohsin Naqvi.

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Arrival of the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran for Islamabad Talks pic.twitter.com/aJYU9cx5t2

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) April 10, 2026

As reported by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the Iranian delegation includes representatives from security, political, military, economic and legal fields.

The team includes foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, secretary of Iran’s defence council Ali Akbar Ahmadian, and central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, along with several members of parliament.

What are key Iranian demands
Tehran has continued to stress preconditions laid out earlier by Ghalibaf, warning that failure to meet them could derail the process, as reported by Press TV.

In a post on X, Ghalibaf said two key steps agreed between the parties remain unfulfilled. According to him, both the Lebanon ceasefire and the release of frozen Iranian assets are essential conditions before any formal dialogue begins in Islamabad.

He said: “Two of the measures mutually agreed upon between the parties have yet to be implemented: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran’s blocked assets prior to the commencement of negotiations. These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin,”

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Two of the measures mutually agreed upon between the parties have yet to be implemented: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran’s blocked assets prior to the commencement of negotiations.

These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin.

— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) April 10, 2026

However, Israel has maintained that the two-week ceasefire does not extend to Lebanon.

This comes as Israeli strikes following earlier hostilities linked to Hezbollah have left heavy casualties in the region. Lebanese authorities say more than 1,950 people have been killed in recent weeks, including over 350 on a single day during renewed strikes.

What’s on US’ list of demands
The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz—through which nearly one-fifth of the world’s crude oil passes—is expected to be a key issue in the Islamabad peace talks.

US President Donald Trump said the vital shipping route would be opened “fairly soon.” While talking to reporters, he added, “We’re going to open up the Gulf with or without them… or the strait as they call it,” he said. “I think it’s going to go pretty quickly, and if it doesn’t, we’ll be able to finish it off. We will have that open fairly soon.”

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/goodwill-but-no-trust-wary-iran-and-us-head-to-islamabad-talks-what-each-side-wants-101775873180584.html

 

 

Iran has insisted that any ceasefire deal must include Lebanon, but the US and Israel maintain that Lebanon was never part of the initial agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he has authorised direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible”. The move comes as a fragile two-week truce between the US, Israel, and Iran hangs by a thread following the intensification of Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon.

“In light of Lebanon’s repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed the cabinet yesterday to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible,” his office wrote in a statement.

“Negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peace relations between Israel and Lebanon. Israel appreciates today’s call by the Prime Minister of Lebanon to demilitarize Beirut,” the statement added.

However, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that there will be no ceasefire with Hezbollah ahead of talks with Lebanon.

The US State Department said that Israel and Lebanon will initiate talks in Washington next week. The two countries have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948.

Lebanon Advocating For Ceasefire Since Last 24 Hours

Meanwhile, Lebanon has spent the last 24 hours advocating for a temporary ceasefire to allow for broader talks with Israel, a senior Lebanese official told Reuters.

The official said it would be a “separate track but the same model” as a fragile truce brokered by Pakistan between the US and Iran.

Netanyahu’s statement comes after Israel launched the largest wave of strikes on Lebanon since the start of its war with Hezbollah on March 2, leaving more than 200 people dead.

While Iran has insisted that any ceasefire deal must include Lebanon, both the US and Israel maintain that Lebanon was never part of the initial agreement.

Trump Asked Netanyahu To Dial Down Lebanon Strikes

US President Donald Trump had asked Netanyahu in a phone call yesterday to scale back the Lebanon strikes to safeguard the success of Iran talks, NBC News reported.

According to the report, a senior US administration official said that the phone call happened after Netanyahu vowed to continue attacking Lebanon on Wednesday.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/cleared-direct-talks-with-lebanon-as-soon-as-possible-netanyahu-11335337?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a ceasefire with Ukraine for the duration of the Orthodox Easter holidays, the Kremlin said Thursday, after Kyiv also proposed a pause in hostilities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a ceasefire with Ukraine for the duration of the Orthodox Easter holidays, the Kremlin said Thursday, after Kyiv also proposed a pause in hostilities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week that he had passed a holiday truce proposal via the US, as talks to end the four-year conflict were derailed by the Middle East war.

“A ceasefire is declared from 16:00 (13:00 GMT) on 11 April until the end of the day on 12 April 2026” by Putin, “in connection with the approaching Orthodox feast of Easter,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

The General Staff “have been instructed to cease combat operations in all directions for this period,” the Kremlin said, adding that troops were ready to “counter any possible provocations by the enemy”.

“We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation.”

Several rounds of US-led talks have failed to bring the warring sides closer to an agreement, further stalling as Washington’s attention shifted to Iran.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/vladimir-putin-announces-orthodox-easter-ceasefire-with-ukraine-11336149?pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories