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US President Donald Trump said yesterday that Iran could call if it wanted to negotiate an end to the war launched by the US and Israel, as Iran’s foreign minister returned to Pakistan for talks despite the absence of US counterparts. Hopes of reviving peace efforts had earlier receded after Trump scrapped a visit to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, even as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi continued to shuttle between mediating countries. “If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone. We have nice, secure lines,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News’ The Sunday Briefing. (Reuters) Source link
Unlike oil and gas, which expose countries to price spikes and geopolitical risk, renewables offer stable, domestically produced power that can strengthen energy security, cut emissions…
Gresini Racing MotoGP’s Alex Marquez celebrates after the Spanish Grand Prix at the Jerez racetrack in Jerez de la Frontera, Sunday. (AFP) Alex Marquez turned his 250th Grand Prix start into a late birthday gift by winning the Spanish Grand Prix for the second straight year Sunday while watching his brother and pole sitter Marc crash out in dramatic fashion. The Gresini Racing rider, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday, started fifth on the grid but quickly moved up to overtake his elder sibling before stretching clear for victory. Marc’s quest for a milestone 100th Grand Prix win across all classes came to an abrupt end on lap two when he lost control at turn 11, crashing out while chasing down his younger brother and stunning the home crowd. “Not many words to describe this moment, we struggled a lot at the beginning of the year,” Alex said. “Today, for me, it was clear – go from the first lap, pushing, trying to take the lead. From that moment, I knew that the rhythm was really good until the end.” Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi finished second for Aprilia after failing to reel in the flying Alex over 25 laps, while VR46 Racing’s Fabio di Giannantonio completed the podium to move up to third in the championship standings. Marc’s crash now leaves the reigning champion 44 points behind Bezzecchi in the championship hunt, as a first Jerez victory since 2019 remains elusive. ALEX UNBEATABLE IN DRY CONDITIONSMarc had clinched his first pole of the season before winning a chaotic sprint despite a crash in rainy conditions on Saturday, but bright sunshine welcomed the riders at the Circuito de Jerez Sunday. Alex, who had been unbeatable in dry conditions at Jerez with a 2025 setup on his Ducati, made a perfect getaway from fifth on the grid. After Marc got the jump from pole and Bezzecchi slotted in behind from the second row, Alex quickly pushed the Italian down to third before taking the lead from his brother with a dive on the inside. As the elder Marquez brother chased him, his race unravelled spectacularly on lap two when he lost the front end and crashed at turn 11, much to the dismay of the Spanish crowd. That moved Bezzecchi up to second but the Italian had his work cut out trying to close the gap as Alex continued to stretch his advantage to more than a second. Behind the leading duo, Di Giannantonio split the two Aprilias by pushing Jorge Martin down to fourth. BOTH DUCATIS FAIL TO FINISHDucati had celebrated a one-two in Saturday’s sprint but Sunday’s race came to a premature end for the Italian outfit when Francesco Bagnaia retired with a technical problem. The factory Ducati team have now gone nine races without a Grand Prix podium – their longest drought since 2014. But up front, it was all about Alex as he urged the crowd to increase their volume on the final lap – just as he did last year – before crossing the finish line and heading straight to the fans to soak up their adulation.“We struggled a bit all weekend, so it wasn’t easy and we made a good performance. I’m very happy,” said Bezzecchi. Related Story Source…
Hyderabad Kingsmenplayers celebrate a wicket during their PSL win against Rawalpiniz Sunday. Hyderabad Kingsmen thumped Rawalpindiz by 108 runs to displace Lahore Qalandars from the fourth spot on the points table based on better net run rate as they defended their mammoth 244-6 total here at the National Bank Stadium, Karachi Sunday afternoon. Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, Usman Khan and Kusal Perera’s blazing half-centuries took Kingsmen to a total well beyond the 200-run mark as they were required to win by at least 86 runs and overtake Qalandars. In turn, pacer Hunain Shah proved to be the difference as he bagged T20 career best 4-22 after Rawalpindiz were cruising at 56-1 in 5.2 overs. With 245 needed to win their second game of the tournament, the Rawalpindiz could have still ended Kingsmen’s journey in the tournament if they scored 159 or more but fell for 136 all out in 17.1 overs losing seven for 42 in 7.2 overs. Usman Khawaja, who remained 66 not out off 43 balls hitting nine fours, couldn’t find any stable partners after walking in to bat in the second over with the fall of Shahzaib Khan to Akif Javed. Khawaja and Rizwan collected 43 runs off 22 balls to scare the Kingsmen but not to be. Player of the match Hunain created impact straightaway in his first over as he removed Mohammad Rizwan (26, 15b, 4x4s) and castled Kamran Ghulam for a duck in a space of three balls. At this juncture, Sam Billings (23, 12b, 1×4, 2x6s) and Khawaja again threatened Kingsmen’s hopes with a fluent 38-run stand, which included two sixes and as many fours.Akif induced a false shot off Billings after getting hit for a six and began the rot in Rawalpindiz batting at 94-4 in 10 overs. Akif then got rid of the dangerous Dian Forrester in the 12th over after which wickets fell at regular intervals with Rawalpindiz losing five for 34. Akif picked up three for 38, while Mohammad Ali and Glenn Maxwell picked up one wicket each. Earlier, Kingsmen came out all guns blazing after they were asked to bat first and were faced with the challenge of posting a mammoth total on the board. Following skipper Marnus Labuschagne’s (5, 5b, 1×4) early departure, Maaz Sadaqat (28, 11b, 5x4s, 1×6) and Usman Khan brisk 54-runs stand to take 64 runs off the first five overs. Saim Ayub (12, 5b, 1×4, 1×6) then launched a six and a four in last over of powerplay as Kingsmen found themselves 78-2 in six overs. Usman, who contributed a fiery 54 off 26 balls, hit four fours and as many sixes in his outing. Saad Masood struck twice at the start of ninth over to remove Usman and Muhammad Irfan Khan to leave Kingsmen 119-5. With the innings on crossroads, top-scorer Maxwell (70, 37b, 8x4s, 3x6s) and Perera (50 not out, 30b, 5x4s, 1×6) came together to put on a game-changing partnership of 108 off 59 balls. Before falling on the first ball of last over, Maxwell unleashed fury on Rawalpindiz bowling attack as he hit Sears for a six and four in 11th over and two fours in 18th over, Amir for three fours in 17th over and Amad Butt for two consecutive maximums in 19th over. It was his 59th T20 half-century. Perera brought up his third HBL PSL fifty and played a supportive knock. Hassan Khan closed the innings in emphatic manner hitting Forrester for a four and two sixes on the last three balls as he finished with 16 off four. In the day’s inconsequential match Sunday, Islamabad United beat Multan Sultans by four wickets as the PSL phase wrapped up before the playoffs. BRIEF SCORESHyderabad Kingsmen 244 for 6 (Maxwell 70, Usman Khan 54*, Masood 2-34) beat Rawalpindiz 136 all out (Khawaja 66*, Hunain 4-22, Javed 3-38) by 108 runsBRIEF SCORESIslamabad United 193 for 6 (Chapman 69*, Shadab 36, Akram 2-41) beat Multan Sultans 192 for 7 (Masood 44, Arafat 21, Imad 1-23) by four wickets Source link
A column of black smoke rises above buildings as traffic passes the Africa Tower monument in Bamako on April 26, 2026. April 25, 2026’s shock attacks,…
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 25, 2026. REUTERS US President Donald Trump Saturday cancelled a planned visit by two American envoys to Iran war mediator Pakistan, dealing a fresh setback to peace prospects after Iran’s foreign minister flew out of Islamabad without any sign of a breakthrough.Trump said in a social media post that he had called off the planned trip by his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, citing what he described as confusion within the Iranian leadership.”Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership.’ Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!” he wrote.Trump later told Fox News: “We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing.” Asked by Axios whether the cancellation meant a resumption of hostilities, Trump said: “No. It doesn’t mean that. We haven’t thought about it yet.”Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier left the Pakistani capital after meeting Pakistani military chief Asim Munir, a key figure in the mediation effort, along with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.Araghchi described his visit to Pakistan as “very fruitful,” adding in a social media post that he had “shared Iran’s position concerning (a) workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran. Have yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy.”Sharif said he spoke by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian Saturday after the talks were called off and reaffirmed Pakistan’s readiness to help resolve the conflict. “Pakistan remains committed to serve as an honest and sincere facilitator — working tirelessly to advance durable peace and lasting stability in the region,” Sharif wrote on X.Iranian media reported that Araghchi had flown to Muscat to meet senior Omani officials. He will however, head back to Pakistan after visiting Oman, state media reported Saturday.The IRNA news agency, citing the foreign ministry, reported that Araghchi “is scheduled to visit Pakistan again after completing his trip to Oman and before travelling to Russia”.Part of his delegation had returned to Tehran, it added, “to consult and obtain the necessary instructions on issues related to ending the war, and is scheduled to rejoin Araghchi in Islamabad tonight”.He is also expected to travel to Russia to discuss efforts to end the war, which the United States and Israel began against Iran on February 28.Tehran has ruled out a new round of direct talks with Washington. An Iranian diplomatic source in Islamabad told Reuters: “Principally, Iranian side will not accept maximalist demands.”White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had earlier said the US had seen some progress from the Iranian side in recent days, while Vice President JD Vance was ready to travel to Pakistan. Vance led a first, unsuccessful round of talks with Iran in Islamabad earlier this month.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Saturday they had no intention of ending their blockade of the waterway. “Controlling the Strait of Hormuz and maintaining the shadow of its deterrent effects over America and the White House’s supporters in the region is the definitive strategy of Islamic Iran,” they said.European Council President Antonio Costa said the strait “must immediately reopen without restrictions and without tolling. This is vital for the entire world.” Related Story Source link
HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, President of the Olympic Council of Asia, visited the Athletes’ Village at the 6th Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China, as part of his ongoing monitoring of the various organisational aspects of the Games. During the visit, Sheikh Joaan inspected the facilities and services provided to the athletes, including accommodation, recovery areas and logistics centres. He praised the high standard of the facilities and the quality of organisation. HE Sheikh Joaan also met a number of participating athletes, wishing them success in their competitions and commending their sportsmanship, which embodies the values of fair play and unity across the Asian continent. Source link
Workers load tonnes of rare earth minerals into bags ready for shipping at a refinery in eastern Malaysia, fuelling the global pushback against China's grip on the critical sector.Rare earths are a key ingredient in products ranging from smartphones to fighter jets, electric cars and wind turbines — and increasingly for hardware powering the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.Global jitters about Beijing's dominance as a rare earths producer have kicked Australian mining giant Lynas into action, expanding its portfolio of rare earths refined in Malaysia as it hopes to boost its approximately 10% share of the market.China makes up the other 90% of the world's market, stoking fears about Beijing's ability to choke global supplies.’China has built its success on executing a clear industrial plan — it takes us to be serious about it,’ Lynas company's chief executive Amanda Lacaze told AFP.Pushing against Chinese dominance will ‘take discipline, focus and clear planning’, she said during a rare press visit to the company's sprawling chemical plant in Malaysia's Gebeng industrial hub, near the coastal city of Kuantan.The Lynas facility in Gebeng is now the world's largest single rare earths processing plant.Downstream demandSince 2012, the facility has been refining pure metals from raw materials mined in Western Australia, in an intensive and complicated separation procedure.It currently handles 11 of the 17 rare earths — a number that is increasing — with plans to expand even further to include ‘heavies’ such as yttrium and lutetium, used for lasers, medical imaging and cancer therapy.From the plant, the bags are transported to Port Klang on the other side of Malaysia, and leave on a ship for Japan, where the metal powders are turned into high-performance magnets used in advanced industries such as electronics and aerospace.Most bags contain NdPr, short for neodymium-praseodymium, a rare-earth mixture and key magnet material, which sells for around $100,000 per bag.Smaller quantities of other separated heavy rare earth oxides like dysprosium, terbium and samarium are sold in 25kg tins.Rare earths are so vital for the global economy that they have become a flashpoint in the blistering trade war between the US and China.Beijing leveraged its grip on the precious minerals in spectacular fashion last October, reaching a deal with Washington to pause the trade war after its curbs on exports rattled markets and snarled supply chains.Supply of rare earths is expected to be a key discussion point at an upcoming summit between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing set for mid-May.But the challenge for Lynas is not its production capacity, chief operating officer Pol Le Roux said.Instead, incentives are needed to boost downstream capacity — the ability to turn raw minerals into a finished product — which is ‘growing too slowly’, he told AFP.Lacaze said the company was already partnering with magnet makers to close the gap between rare-earth processing and manufacturing.However, she stressed: ‘We won't just say that we are going to wake up tomorrow and be a magnet maker.’'Minimise risks' Producing rare earths requires heavy chemicals and can produce toxic waste, with cases including illegal operations polluting Mekong tributaries in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia with arsenic and cadmium.Lynas got the green light last month from the Malaysian government to process rare earths there for another 10 years.The licence was issued as environmental watchdogs such as Greenpeace raised concerns over the management of radioactive by-products.Under the latest agreement, the government said the company must now halt all activities that produce radioactive waste within five years of its renewed operating licence.Lynas however, says its by-product from rare earth refining produces a non-toxic, non-radioactive magnesium-rich gypsum and an iron phosphate with a very low level of naturally occurring radioactive material.Existing by-product is already stored in a permanent disposal facility ‘constructed and managed to ensure the material does not impact on the surrounding environment,’ the company said.Lynas also has ambitions to diversify further into producing rare earths as catalysts over the next decade.Rare earths are particularly important as a low-cost catalyst in the hydrogen supply chain, for instance, in the recovery process when the gas is transported long-haul as ammonia.’In 10 years from now, I expect this to be a substantial part of the business,’ Le Roux said. Source link
Both Qatari men’s beach volleyball teams have qualified for the Round of 16 at the Asian Beach Games – Sanya in China after securing two more victories yesterday in the preliminary stage.The first team, comprising Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, defeated Uzbekistan 2-0 (21-14, 21-9), while the second team of Mohamed Ehab and Moussa al-Khair maintained their winning run with a 2-0 victory over Macau (21-10, 21-5). Both teams will play their final group matches today to determine the top spot in their respective groups and confirm their Round of 16 opponents, with the knockout matches scheduled for tomorrow. The first team will face Iran, while the second team take on hosts China.Meanwhile, Qatar’s women’s teams suffered defeats in their opening matches. Malak Hashim and Nelly Shalabi lost to South Korea 0-2, while Haya Abu Issa and Laila Mohammed went down to Sri Lanka by the same scoreline.Qatar have previously enjoyed success in beach volleyball at the Asian Beach Games, winning bronze at the 2014 Phuket edition before claiming both gold and silver medals at the 2016 Da Nang Games, highlighting the steady progress of the sport in the country.Beach handball team overcome JordanQatar’s beach handball team strengthened their position at the top of the group with a 2-0 victory over Jordan (22-18, 18-16) in their fifth match of the group stage. The win lifted Qatar to 10 points from five consecutive victories, underlining their consistent form and strong start to the competition.Qatar conclude their group-stage campaign against Thailand tomorrow before facing the Maldives on Monday, aiming to maintain their lead and secure qualification for the semi-finals.3×3 basketball teams begin campaignQatar’s men’s 3×3 basketball team open their campaign today against Bahrain before facing Kazakhstan later in the day. The women’s team also begin their participation with a challenging match against China, one of the tournament favourites, before taking on Kazakhstan on Monday in their second group match.The men’s squad includes Mohammed Bashir, Dejan Janic, Nadem Muslic and Osman Deng, while the women’s team features Sama Jasser, Tania Al-Tawil, Mona Al-Sayed and Alaa Suleiman.In jiu-jitsu, Ahmed al-Qardaghi exited the competition after losing to Jordan’s Alaa Aldin al-Khazai in the Round of 16 of the 77kg category.China lead medal standingsChina continue to top the medal table at the Asian Beach Games – Sanya 2026 with a total of seven medals – four gold, two silver and one bronze. The United Arab Emirates are second with four medals – two gold, one silver and one bronze – while the Philippines sit third with three medals – two gold and one bronze. Vietnam follow in fourth place with one gold and one silver, while the Republic of Korea are fifth with two silver medals. Source link
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (Reuters/File photo) Ferdinand Marcos will make the first state visit to Japan by a Philippine president in over a decade next month, the presidential palace said Friday, at a time of deepening security cooperation between the two countries.Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will receive Marcos and his wife Louise during the May 26-29 trip, with the Filipino leader also set to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the palace statement said.Marcos and Takaichi “are expected to discuss the future trajectory of the Philippines-Japan Strengthened Strategic Partnership” as well as international developments, “especially with regard to energy and food security, and maritime security”, it said.The World War II foes have been strengthening military ties in recent years, with Tokyo supplying coast guard ships and radar systems and signing a reciprocal access deal that allowed Japanese troops to take part for the first time in annual US-Philippines military exercises.About 1,400 Japanese personnel are currently in the Philippines for the sprawling, 19-day exercise known as Balikatan, or “Shoulder to Shoulder”.Tokyo has also been a key financer of Manila’s efforts to modernise patrol craft and maritime surveillance systems used in the disputed South China Sea.China claims nearly the entirety of the strategic waterway despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.In February, US, Japanese and Philippine aircraft patrolled over the Bashi Channel that separates the Philippines from Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory, to test what Manila called their “ability to operate seamlessly together in complex maritime environments”.Little more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) separates the Philippines and self-ruled Taiwan, which China has not ruled out taking by force.Manila said Marcos will also meet with Japanese business groups and members of the Filipino community.His state visit would be the first by an incumbent Filipino leader since Benigno Aquino’s trip to Tokyo in 2015. Related Story Source link