Trump has declared Tehran’s recent peace proposal a “piece of garbage” as he reportedly mulls new strikes The US and Iran remain miles apart on a potential peace deal, with a tentative month-old ceasefire teetering on the brink amid recurring naval skirmishes and President Donald Trump’s blockade of Iranian ports. The continued standoff has triggered fears that Washington and Tehran could return to full-blown hostilities, exacerbating the oil shock and pressure on the global economy. Ceasefire on ‘life support’ On Monday, Trump provided a glimpse into the dire state of diplomacy between the US and Iran, saying that “the ceasefire is on massive life support” while dismissing the recent peace proposal from Tehran as a “piece of garbage” that he said he “didn’t even finish reading.” Read more ...
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Nearly 90 people have been killed since Friday despite a US-brokered ceasefire, according to Lebanese officials Israel has intensified its “brutal bombardment” of southern Lebanon, expanding evacuation orders to more villages, RT correspondent Steve Sweeney has reported from Beirut. Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 87 people in the neighboring country since Friday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Local authorities said 39 people were killed on Saturday alone after strikes hit 22 towns and villages in southern Lebanon. On Monday, Israel issued evacuation orders for several more villages, bringing the total to 84 since a US-brokered ceasefire took effect in mid-April. Read more Lebanon accuses Israel of deliberately targeting medics Fighting has continued despite the truce, with both sides accu...
A £200,000 redesign of a ceremonial jacket for female officers has reportedly been described as a “positive step for women” The Royal Navy has allocated up to £200,000 (nearly $270,000) to redesign female officers’ ceremonial uniforms amid concerns that the buttons on the jackets were “inappropriately placed,” according to an internal document cited by The Times. The current jacket, which is worn by women officers at ceremonial events, features four rows of two buttons, with the top row positioned at nipple level, which has repeatedly been the subject of jokes within the service. Under the redesign, all eight buttons will reportedly be moved lower on the jacket. More than 950 female officers are expected to receive the updated uniforms in phases beginning later this year. The change has been described as a “positive step for women,” according to the document. Some per...
The high-level talks will focus on “rebalancing the relationship” between Washington and Beijing, the White House has said The Chinese Foreign Ministry has confirmed that US President Donald Trump will pay a state visit to Beijing from May 13 to 15, the first such trip in nearly nine years. The summit had initially been planned for late March but was postponed due to the US-Israeli war on Iran, which disrupted global energy markets following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Principal deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly described the trip as one of “tremendous symbolic significance” that would focus on “rebalancing the relationship with China and prioritizing reciprocity and fairness to restore American economic independence.” The US president will hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, and the two leaders are expected to meet ag...
American health officials said those who were aboard the MV Hondius will not be quarantined if they show no symptoms The US decision not to quarantine passengers of the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, the MV Hondius, could be dangerous, the chief of the World Health Organization has said. Since April 11, three people aboard the Dutch-flagged Atlantic liner have died from the rare pathogen, which is typically spread through contact with infected rodent droppings, urine or saliva, while several others have contracted the disease. The vessel was carrying 147 passengers and crew from 23 countries. On Sunday, 17 Americans and one UK national residing in the US disembarked the vessel, which docked at the Spanish island of Tenerife, and are currently on their way back home. The passengers will be flown to the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska for what US health officials have described as a brief visit to c...
Is the conflict winding down towards an uneasy stability or winding up for a new escalation? In nature, nearly everything obeys the law of the pendulum. Motion begins with an impulse, accelerates under the pressure of kinetic energy, reaches an extreme point, and then, sooner or later, is pulled back toward balance. This balance is never absolute and never eternal. It is only a temporary state of stability, a pause before the next shock, the next pressure, the next external force that sets the mechanism in motion again. Political history has often moved with the same rhythm. Empires expand and contract, revolutions radicalize and institutionalize, wars erupt and then search for a language of exhaustion. The current war of the United States and Israel against Iran is no exception. An uneasy balance The active phase of aggression against Iran, which began on February 28 with large scale US and Israeli stri...