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The strait has become a global flashpoint which has driven up the price of oil, threatened the safety of ships and seafarers while rocking regional stability.Why it mattersThe Strait of Hormuz is a narrow maritime…
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The strait has become a global flashpoint which has driven up the price of oil,…
It brings the total number of migrants and refugees killed this year attempting the crossing…
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Iranians react after a ceasefire announcement at the Enqelab square, in Tehran, yesterday.(AFP) While some Iranians in the capital Tehran fear the ceasefire with the United States will lead to nothing, others declared victory and most breathed a sigh of relief after weeks of war.“Everyone is at ease now, we are more relaxed,” Sakineh Mohammadi, a 50-year-old housewife, said, saying she was “proud” of her country. Just the day before, US President Donald Trump threatened to eradicate “a whole civilisation” in Iran if its leaders did not heed his ultimatum to accept Washington’s war demands.That was enough to cause a “nervous breakdown” for Simin, a 48-year-old English teacher, after more than a month of bombing. “I couldn’t feel my legs or arms anymore,” she said.“We were terrified to our very core… The shock and psychological pressure were so intense that even now, we don’t know whether to feel relieved by the truce or not.” That same evening, panicked residents of Tehran tried to flee north to the shores of the Caspian Sea, where many had sought refuge during the very first days of the war.For those who stayed, the night was long and anxious. Their eyes were glued to the latest developments on television until Trump announced the two-week truce, which came in the middle of the night for Iranians.Since the truce was declared, the bombs have fallen silent in Tehran, and the Iranian capital now has the air of a public holiday. Many shops were closed and outdoor cafes were packed in upscale neighbourhoods, as Tehran’s legendary traffic jams vanished yesterday.So did the checkpoints manned by armed men which had spread throughout the city in recent weeks, with only barriers and signs remaining on the roadside where they once stood. The smell of burning hangs from a closed airport and buildings that have been destroyed or gutted.On the facade of one building, giant portraits of the Islamic republic’s founder, R Khomeini, and his successor Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed on the first day of the war, overlook a field of ruins. Despite thousands of people dead and widespread damage inflicted, Behrouz Ghahramani is “not afraid” of the American-Israeli enemy.If the war resumes, “we will attack them again”, he said.“We were the ones who imposed this ceasefire on the United States by demonstrating our military power,” the 67-year-old said, boasting of Iran’s millennia-long history. Source link
The Philippine Coast Guard command centre on Thitu Island in the South China Sea Thursday. (AFP) The Philippine Coast Guard unveiled Thursday its first dedicated command centre in the Spratly island chain, a flashpoint in the disputed South China Sea that has been the site of repeated confrontations with Chinese vessels.The headquarters of a newly established coast guard district, formerly overseen from neighbouring Palawan, will cover an area of about 68,000sq km (26,000 square miles).An AFP journalist travelling to the new command centre on Pagasa Island, known as Thitu in the Philippines, saw multiple Chinese Coast Guard vessels patrolling nearby waters. The vessels issued radio warnings to the plane carrying the journalist.Beijing claims the South China Sea in nearly its entirety, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.Pagasa will now have a commodore-level commander on site, Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Ronnie Gil Gavan told reporters after “activation” ceremony Thursday, along with a permanently stationed ship, more response vessels and an unspecified number of specialists.”The establishment of the coast guard district here will also enhance the psyche, the mindset of each and every coast guard member, that… the defence of Kalayaan island group is a top priority,” Gavan said, using the Filipino name for the Spratlys.The move will also include the dredging of a deeper port that will allow for the docking of coast guard vessels, which must currently ferry personnel to and from Pagasa on small boats.The far-flung Kota and Parola islands will also see their substations raised to full station status, coast guard spokesman Jay Tarriela said.The Pagasa upgrade, meanwhile, will mean a bigger budget for greater community assistance to the island’s inhabitants, including more teachers and doctors, he said.Pagasa Island is home to about 400 Filipinos, mostly fishermen and their families, who China accuses of living there illegally.The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Thursday.The Philippines last month revealed plans to rename more than 100 island features in the Spratlys in a bid to reinforce its “sovereignty” in the South China Sea.China subsequently accused Manila of breaking international law while threatening unspecified measures to protect its own claims. Source…
People stand at the site of an Israeli strike, in Al-Mazraa in Beirut, Lebanon, April 8, 2026. REUTERS/Yara…
Cuba’s Vice-Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal, accompanies a women protest against the sanctions imposed by the United States, in…
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah discussed today, in a telephone call with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, the latest developments in the region and the efforts underway.The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Sheikh Al-Sabah praised during the call the diplomatic efforts undertaken by Pakistan, which contributed to a ceasefire between the United States of America and Iran. Source link
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