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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding signed with Iran to end the conflict was “over”, adding he did not want to engage with Tehran, calling the Iranian leadership “sick people”.Speaking at a summit of NATO leaders in Ankara, Trump also said he had ordered his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cut off trade ties with Spain, calling Madrid a “terrible partner” in NATO. The twin announcements overshadowed a summit that European leaders hoped would be focused on projecting unity and support for Ukraine, and put a lid on a series of rows that have threatened to blow NATO apart. The U.S. unleashed new military strikes on Iran and revoked a licence allowing Iran to sell oil in response to attacks on three tankers. It was the latest blow to a fragile ceasefire agreement in a war that is deeply unpopular in Europe.”It’s a very interesting question. To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them,” Trump said when asked whether the interim accord with Iran that envisaged hammering out a long-term peace deal by mid-August was over. “They’re scum. They’re sick people. They’re led by sick people.” “As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them,” he said. Washington and Madrid have been at loggerheads, with Spain explicitly rejecting Trump’s demands for European countries to sharply increase military spending to pay for their own defence. “Spain is a wasted cause. We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore,” Trump said. “By the way, I’d like to cut it off. Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate, they don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, including visits.” In response, the office of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said it was treating Trump’s statements as business as usual, adding that bilateral relations benefited both countries. Related Story Source link
Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy announced that the power supply has been restored to all residential areas hit by blackout on Wednesday.The feeding works of the overhead power lines have been successfully completed and electricity supply has resumed nationwide, the ministry said in a post on X.The ministry had announced earlier that a number of power transmission lines had gone offline, resulting in electricity outages in several areas across the country. Source link
Lebanese Minister of Information Dr. Paul Morcos praised the State of Qatar’s efforts to reduce tension and its pivotal role in achieving the desired stability.In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), the Lebanese Minister of Information also commended Qatar’s role in promoting stability in Lebanon, alongside other Arab states whose continued support Lebanon relies upon, noting that establishing stability in the region will have a positive impact on Lebanon.The minister said the objective of the framework arrangement between Lebanon and the Israeli entity is to secure the liberation of Lebanese territory, the return of prisoners, the return of displaced residents, the reconstruction of villages and towns, and the restoration of stability to southern Lebanon through resolving all outstanding issues. He said these objectives are reflected in the negotiating initiative put forward by Lebanese President Gen. Joseph Aoun.He considered the framework agreement a first step in a long process, as indicated by Lebanese Prime Minister Dr. Nawaf Salam during the last cabinet meeting, adding that the framework is not an agreement, but rather a framework for an agreement.He added that once an agreement is finalized between Lebanon and Israel, in accordance with Article 52 of the Constitution, the agreement will be presented to the government and parliament, as the authority to negotiate rests with the President of the Republic in coordination with the Prime Minister. Source link
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji affirmed that the framework agreement between Lebanon and the Israeli entity is not final but rather constitutes a basis for completing negotiations on contentious issues.During his meeting with Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan, Raji stressed the necessity of solidifying the ceasefire, ensuring a complete withdrawal, releasing prisoners, and negotiating the demarcation of the land border.He considered the agreement as a starting point, and its true importance lies in enshrining the independence of the Lebanese path.On another note, Raji said that the Lebanese government is proceeding with the implementation of the decision to restrict weapons to the state.For his part, the Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister said that achieving peace requires political courage. Source link
The Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) in Bahrain announced that the power supply has been restored to all areas affected by the outage earlier last night.In a statement, EWA said it had monitored the limited power outage in several areas of the country, adding that specialized technical teams had begun working to take the necessary measures and restore service as quickly as possible.The EWA emphasized the importance of obtaining information from official and reliable sources. Source link
The Bahraini Ministry of Interior announced at dawn today that it had activated the sirens in the country, calling on citizens and residents to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.”The siren has been sounded. .. Citizens and residents are urgent to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place,” the ministry said in a post on X. Source link
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had launched a series of attacks on targets in Iran in response to what it said were Iranian attacks targeting three commercial vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command said in a statement: “Our forces have begun to launch a series of strong strikes on Iran to incur the price of targeting and attacking commercial shipping.” “The aggression shown by Iran was unjustified and dangerous and represented a clear violation of the ceasefire Related Story Source link
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Wednesday they had hit dozens of US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait in response to American strikes, in a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB. “In an initial response to this aggression, the IRGC Navy and Aerospace Force carried out a joint missile and drone operation, striking 85 key US military facilities” in the two countries, while also shooting down an MQ-9 drone, the statement said. Related Story Source link
* Argentina trailed 2-0 after Ibrahim and Zico scored for Egypt* Messi squandered a first-half penalty and became the first player to miss two at one World Cup* Argentina face Colombia or Switzerland in Saturday’s quarter-final in Kansas City Lionel Messi inspired Argentina to a remarkable World Cup comeback as they came from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 in a dramatic last-16 game on Tuesday.The holders were 11 minutes from a shock defeat trailing 2-0, but goals from Cristian Romero, Messi and the winner two minutes into stoppage time from Enzo Fernandez kept them in the competition.Egypt had been on the brink of one of the great World Cup upsets after goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico. Messi had squandered an early penalty.The Africans fell apart in the closing stages, however, as Argentina’s captain inspired his side in a dramatic turnaround.The 39-year-old, whose record World Cup goal haul is now up to 21, was again central to his country’s hopes and constantly probing for an opportunity but found his efforts stymied by determined defending until near the end of another thrilling match at the tournament.Messi, who was in floods of tears at the end, provided the cross from which Romero headed home to start the comeback.Four minutes later, Messi crashed home the equaliser after substitutes Lautaro Martinez and Gonzalo Montiel had both got touches to keep the ball away from Egyptian defenders.COUNTER-ATTACK WINNERThe winner came from a counter-attack as Lautaro Martinez crossed from the right and Fernandez cushioned a back-post header past goalkeeper Mostafa Shoubir, who had done much earlier to keep his team in the game.Egypt felt they deserved a penalty before the breakaway and vociferously complained but to no avail.The North Africans were surprisingly attacking in the early stages, bucking their recent tendency of sitting back and looking for counter-attack opportunities, and they opened the scoring after 15 minutes.Emam Ashour attempted to tease his way past the Argentine defence on the right flank but, seeing no way through, passed back to Marwan Attia, who floated in a long cross that Ibrahim rose to easily head home.The lead should have only lasted four minutes as Haissem Hassan caught overlapping Argentine fullback Nicolas Tagliafico with a late tackle to give away a penalty.But it only served to mark the start of the goalkeeping heroics of Shoubir, whose dive to the left easily stopped a left-footed effort from Messi that was too close to the keeper.Messi became the first player to miss two penalties at a World Cup after also failing from the spot against Austria in the group phase.MIRACULOUS SAVES FROM EGYPT GOALKEEPERShoubir made a reflex stop to deny a point-blank header from Alexis Mac Allister in the 28th minute, and pulled off an even more extraordinary save six minutes from halftime to stop Julian Alvarez’s shot, stretching to turn the ball around the post.In between, Messi crashed a free kick against the post.Egypt had the ball in the net in the 62nd minute but Zico’s finish, after a sweeping move with Hassan’s trickery and Mohamed Salah’s pass, was chalked off after a VAR review found that Attia had fouled Lisandro Martinez in the build-up.But five minutes later, they swept further into the lead in similar circumstances. Salah swept the ball forward on the counter, Hassan took it to the byline, and Zico came storming in to finish the cutback pass.But once Egypt began to sit back, they invited Messi to perform his heroics and paid a heavy price.Argentina advanced to a Saturday quarter-final in Kansas City against the winners of the later game on Tuesday between Colombia and Switzerland in Vancouver. Related Story Source link
Afghanistan’s paceman Shapoor Zadran prepares to bowl during the 2015 World Cup Pool A match against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground on March 13, 2015.…