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A senior US delegation met with Cuba government  officials in Cuba as the Trump administration ramps up its efforts to pressure Havana into a deal as it continues to exert its economic chokehold on the island. It was the one of the highest-level visits of US officials in roughly a decade and comes as President Donald Trump continues to raise the specter of potential military action. It also comes as Cuba’s economic crisis continues to deepen amid sharp restrictions, including on fuel, from the US administration. Cuba’s president, meanwhile, has made increasingly defiant calls to resist US military aggression in recent days. The senior State Department delegation, which visited the island in recent weeks, stressed that time was running out for Havana “to make key US backed reforms before circumstances irreversibly worsen,” a US State Department official told CNN. It was the first time a US government aircraft touched down in Cuba – other than at the US base in Guantanamo...

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned a US decision to extend the period during which Russia is allowed to sell oil despite Western sanctions. The move means countries can purchase Russian oil and petroleum products already loaded on vessels at sea until 16 May. The US argues that the waiver is meant to ease the energy supply crunch sparked by the US-Israel war with Iran. But in his remarks on Sunday, Zelensky said "every dollar paid for Russian oil is money for the war" in Ukraine. Widespread sanctions have been in place against Russia since President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022. The devastating US and Israel attacks against Iran have prompted it to retaliate not only against Israel and US military bases in the Gulf, but also against energy fatalities and other civilian sites across Arab allies of the US in the region. Additionally, Iran has virtually shut the Strait of Hormuz - the narrow p...

With not one, but two ceasefires in place across the Middle East, is the scene now set for a pair of historic breakthroughs? The ceasefires - in Iran and Lebanon - are both described as "shaky" (ceasefires generally are), but as the din of war fades away once more, this is a moment pregnant with opportunity. And risk. On the face of it, Thursday night's announcement of a 10-day pause in the fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah, is a win for Iran. The regime in Tehran had demanded a ceasefire in Lebanon, saying talks with the US could not be expected to progress without it. With the pause now in place, Iran has responded, declaring the Strait of Hormuz "completely open". As last weekend's marathon negotiating session in Islamabad showed, progress was in fact possible, even as the fighting in Lebanon continued (with Israel merely avoiding further attacks on Beirut). But Iran and Pakistan both insisted that Lebanon must b...

It’s not their war. But it’s becoming their political and economic nightmare. World leaders who opposed the US-Israeli attack on Iran  are being torn between Donald Trump’s ire at their failure to join the conflict and electorates who are deeply hostile to the war and America’s president. Their dilemma is shifting the dynamic between the US and its allies. Leaders who once tried to appease and flatter the world’s most powerful man are now daring to criticize him and seeking distance. They are doing so not just out of antipathy to American foreign policy, but also because of war-related pressures threatening the livelihoods of their people, and therefore their own governments and careers. Even leaders who tried to shape Trump’s second-term behavior are reacting to his contempt. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday said Trump’s attacks on on Pope Leo XIV  were “unacceptable.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose friendship with Trump shattered over t...

The UK is providing 120,000 drones to Ukraine in what the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said is the largest delivery of its kind. Drones have increasingly come to dominate both sides of the war in Ukraine, which entered its fifth year in February. Defence Secretary John Healey said "with eyes on the Middle East in recent weeks, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin wants us to be distracted", as he announced the "big boost" ahead of co-chairing a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Berlin later on Wednesday. On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had captured a Russian position using ground-based and aerial drones alone for the first time. The UK drones announcement follows Zelensky's suggestion that US peace negotiators "have no time for Ukraine" because of the war with Iran, AFP reports. The package will include long-range strike drones, reconnaissance drones, logistics drones and those with maritime capab...

Britain’s King Charles III will address a joint meeting of Congress and meet privately with US President Donald Trump during his state visit to the United States later this month, Buckingham Palace announced Tuesday. Between April 27 and 30, Charles and Queen Camilla will visit Washington, DC, New York and Virginia, undertaking a variety of public engagements to mark the 250 th  anniversary of US independence. Their long-planned visit coincides with an unusually delicate time for the “special relationship” between the US and the UK following weeks of Trump repeatedly attacking British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his government for not offering their full-throated support for the US offensive against Iran. Some British lawmakers even questioned whether Charles should still go to the US under such circumstances, before the palace confirmed the visit last month. As the monarch, however, Charles is constitutionally bound to remain above politics, able only to represent ...

In a letter dated April 14, 2026, and addressed to the Executive Secretary of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Mr Clement Isong, AON said the cost of aviation fuel has surged from ₦900 per litre as of February 28 to ₦3,300 per litre — an increase of over 300 per cent within weeks. According to the body, the spike is “artificial” and far exceeds global trends, noting that international crude oil prices have risen by only about 30 per cent within the same period. ‘Detrimental to national wellbeing’ The operators said airlines have continued to absorb the rising costs for over four weeks out of “patriotism and in the spirit of service to the nation,” but they warned that the burden is no longer manageable. “Airline revenues are insufficient to cover the cost of fuel alone,” the letter stated, adding that the situation has deteriorated to the point where continued operations are no longer viable. The group warned that the actions of fuel ...

Italy will not renew its defence agreement with Israel, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said. Meloni said her government had decided to suspend the renewal, which happens every five years, "in view of the current situation", without offering specifics. Relations between Rome and Tel Aviv, which have historically been solid, have recently soured. Last week, Italy summoned the Israeli ambassador to Rome after warning shots were fired by Israeli forces at a convoy of Italian UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, damaging one vehicle but causing no injuries. On Monday, Israel in turn summoned Italy's ambassador to protest comments by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who had condemned Israel's "unacceptable attacks" on civilians in Lebanon. Defence ministry officials told the BBC they were still examining how the government's position would translate into concrete legal and practical consequences on the framework of Italian cooperation wit...

Western democracies, including the UK, France, Canada and Australia, are facing backlash after allowing Iran and other authoritarian regimes to secure seats on influential United Nations (U.N.) bodies , with the United States standing alone in opposition. The controversy stems from decisions by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a 54-member body that plays a central role in shaping U.N. policy and staffing key committees. Critics warn the outcome could allow governments accused of human rights abuses to influence global policy and control which civil society groups are granted access to the United Nations. ECOSOC nominated the Islamic Republic of Iran  to the U.N.’s Committee for Program and Coordination Wednesday, a body that helps shape policy on human rights, women’s rights, disarmament and counterterrorism. The nomination is widely expected to be finalized, as the United Nations General Assembly typically approves such recommen...

US Vice-President JD Vance remained tight-lipped as he returned from Islamabad on Sunday without a major breakthrough in high-stakes talks to end the war in Iran. It was unclear how much, if any, progress was made in the highest-level diplomatic negotiations between the US and Iran in decades. After 21 hours of back and forth in the Pakistani capital, Washington and Tehran remain far apart on key sticking points, including Iran's nuclear programme. The two sides did not reach an agreement on what to do with the regime's enriched uranium, said a US official, who offered new details on the talks on the condition of anonymity. Other unresolved issues include reopening the Strait of Hormuz without toll charges, a top priority for President Donald Trump, and securing a commitment from Iran to stop funding proxy groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, the US official said. Vance gave Tehran a final offer in the talks on Saturday, the US official said, without specifying details....

The UK will not be involved in enforcing the US military blockade of Iran, Sir Keir Starmer has said. UK minesweepers and anti-drone capabilities will continue operating in the region but British naval ships and soldiers will not be used to block Iranian ports. Speaking to BBC 5 Live, the prime minister said he was focused on getting the vital shipping channel of the Strait of Hormuz reopened in order to reduce energy prices "as quickly as possible". The US announced its blockade after talks with Iran failed to secure a lasting peace deal to end hostilities in the Middle East. Following a meeting between US and Iran negotiators in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, President Donald Trump said the US would start "BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz". The US Central Command (Centcom) later confirmed its forces would enforce the blockade "impartially" on vessels leaving and entering Iranian ports, including ...