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The member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) called for a final agreement between the US and Iran, welcoming the two-week ceasefire announced on April 8, 2026, affirming the need to build on it to reduce escalation in the region.ASEAN stressed in a statement the importance of maintaining maritime safety and security and preserving freedom of navigation and overflight over international straits, in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the standards adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), calling for the restoration of safe and unimpeded passage for ships and aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz, and ensuring the safety of seafarers and ships in accordance with relevant international agreements.The member states also urged Washington and Tehran to continue negotiations leading to a permanent end to the conflict and stability in the region, praising the efforts of Pakistan and the parties concerned in facilitating dialogue between the two sides.ASEAN affirmed the need for the full and effective implementation of the ceasefire, which would contribute to reducing human losses, ensure the safety of navigation and freedom of passage for civilian ships and aircraft, reduce disruptions in energy and commodity supplies, and mitigate their impact on the global economy.It also called on all parties to strictly adhere to the terms of the ceasefire, exercise maximum restraint, cease hostilities, avoid any steps that would escalate tensions, and work collectively to reach a comprehensive and sustainable solution in accordance with international law, the UN Charter and UN Security Council resolutions.ASEAN reaffirmed the importance of maintaining regional peace, stability and prosperity, and promoting dialogue and diplomacy as a key means of addressing conflicts.It also reaffirmed the commitment of states to resolve their disputes by peaceful means, respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and ensure the safety of peacekeeping forces and humanitarian workers, in accordance with international law and the UN Charter. Related Story Source link
Israeli occupation forces launched an arrest campaign Monday, detaining 25 Palestinians from various areas across the West Bank after raiding and searching their homes.The Palestinian News Agency (WAFA) reported that Israeli forces arrested ten Palestinians from Al-Issawiya town in occupied Jerusalem, seven individuals from Qalqilya Governorate, and four others, including a child, from Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate.A young man was also detained from southern Tubas, another from the city of Nablus, and others from the city of Hebron and the Shuafat refugee camp northeast of occupied Jerusalem.Israeli occupation authorities continue to expand their repressive and settlement practices across the occupied territories by carrying out raids and home invasions, arresting residents and granting unlawful backing to settlers to commit violations against Palestinians.These include the unjust seizure of property and land, and support for settlement projects through the construction of outposts aimed at taking control of as much Palestinian land as possible and consolidating dominance over it. Source link
Japan hopes a “final agreement” will be concluded swiftly between the US and Iran to de-escalate the Middle East situation, after Washington-Tehran weekend peace talks failed to reach a deal.”What is most important is that de-escalation, including securing the safety of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, is actually achieved,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said in a press conference Monday, adding that Tokyo is closely watching developments and will continue to work with the international community.Kihara also said no decision has been made about whether Japan plans to send its Self-Defense Forces for minesweeping operations in the strait, a chokepoint for global energy transportation.Japan relies on the Middle East for more than 90% of its crude oil imports. Most transit the strait, which Iran has effectively closed since the US and Israel began attacking the country in late February. Source link
Eighteen people were injured in an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon.The Lebanese Ministry of Health’s emergency operations center stated that Israeli airstrikes on the town of Al-Bazouriyah in the Tyre district wounded 18 citizens, three of whom are in critical condition.In a related development, the death toll from an Israeli airstrike on the town of Tuffahta in the Sidon district of southern Lebanon on Saturday, rose to nine, with 13 others injured. Source link
Singapore has flatly rejected any suggestion it would pay transit fees to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, with Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan telling parliament the right of free navigation is enshrined in international law — not a toll concession for Tehran to extract. Responding to a parliamentary question, Balakrishnan said Singapore would continue engaging Iran diplomatically but ruled out any negotiation over safe passage fees. “It is not a privilege to be granted by the bordering state, it’s not a licence to be supplicated for, it is not a toll to be paid,” he said. The remarks come as Iran has imposed what shipping sources describe as a de facto toll system — administered by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps — in the wake of US and Israeli strikes on Iranian infrastructure. Reports suggest demands of up to $2mn per vessel, payable in cryptocurrency or yuan, ostensibly to fund reconstruction. Traffic through the strait plummeted by an estimated 90% during peak hostilities, with only partial recovery following a tentative ceasefire. Tehran, which signed but never ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), maintains it is not bound by its transit passage provisions and retains the right to regulate movement through its territorial waters on security grounds. Balakrishnan dismissed that argument, saying non-ratification was not a “get-out-of-jail-free card” and that the principle of free transit applied universally as customary international law. Singapore’s hard line is rooted as much in strategic interest as legal principle. Balakrishnan drew an explicit parallel with the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of Singapore — chokepoints that carry roughly a quarter to two-fifths of global seaborne trade, including nearly half of China’s oil imports. Were Hormuz tolls to go unchallenged, he warned, similar demands could follow on the very waterways Singapore depends on for its economic existence. The shipping industry has broadly backed Singapore’s stance, with insurers and major operators advised against payment to avoid legitimising the practice. A clip of Balakrishnan’s remarks, posted to social media on April 11, drew more than 3mn views and sharp debate over the tension between legal norms and geopolitical realities. Related Story Source link
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Doctors Without Borders, warned of the continued and expanding violent attacks and Israeli military control over the Gaza Strip, stressing that the living conditions of Palestinians remain dire and catastrophic amid a deliberate pattern of obstructing humanitarian aid.The MSF revealed in a statement that the so-called ceasefire implemented since October 2025 has failed to end the suffering of the people of Gaza, with at least 733 people killed and 1,913 others wounded since that date.The MSF noted that its medical teams performed more than 40,000 wound dressings for injuries resulting from violent incidents, including gunshot wounds and explosions, confirming that more than 60% of the cases in its clinics in Gaza were injuries resulting from direct attacks.MSF Emergency Manager Claire San Filippo said that Israeli authorities are imposing conditions aimed at destroying living conditions through the systematic restriction of aid entry and the cancellation of the registration of 37 international aid organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, which has been prevented from bringing in any medical supplies since the beginning of 2026.The statement noted that the health system is being systematically strangled, with more than 18,500 patients, including 4,000 children, awaiting medical evacuation, which is being prevented by the occupation authorities.The MSF statement also noted a high prevalence of skin, intestinal and respiratory diseases as a result of overcrowding and the forced displacement of about 90% of the population.On the ground, the MSF explained that the occupation has effectively divided the sector through what is called the ‘yellow line,’ confining Palestinians to only 42% of the destroyed lands, and turning the area around this line into a killing zone under constant bombardment by aircraft, artillery, and warships.The MSF called on the international community to use all political pressure to compel Israel, as an occupying power, to protect civilians, restore decent living conditions, and allow the entry of urgent humanitarian and medical aid without hindrance. Source link
Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. (Reuters file photo) Singapore has flatly rejected any suggestion it would pay transit fees to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, with Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan telling parliament the right of free navigation is enshrined in international law — not a toll concession for Tehran to extract.Responding to a parliamentary question, Balakrishnan said Singapore would continue engaging Iran diplomatically but ruled out any negotiation over safe passage fees. “It is not a privilege to be granted by the bordering state, it’s not a licence to be supplicated for, it is not a toll to be paid,” he said.The remarks come as Iran has imposed what shipping sources describe as a de facto toll system — administered by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps — in the wake of US and Israeli strikes on Iranian infrastructure. Reports suggest demands of up to $2mn per vessel, payable in cryptocurrency or yuan, ostensibly to fund reconstruction. Traffic through the strait plummeted by an estimated 90% during peak hostilities, with only partial recovery following a tentative ceasefire.Tehran, which signed but never ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), maintains it is not bound by its transit passage provisions and retains the right to regulate movement through its territorial waters on security grounds. Balakrishnan dismissed that argument, saying non-ratification was not a “get-out-of-jail-free card” and that the principle of free transit applied universally as customary international law.Singapore’s hard line is rooted as much in strategic interest as legal principle. Balakrishnan drew an explicit parallel with the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of Singapore — chokepoints that carry roughly a quarter to two-fifths of global seaborne trade, including nearly half of China’s oil imports. Were Hormuz tolls to go unchallenged, he warned, similar demands could follow on the very waterways Singapore depends on for its economic existence.The shipping industry has broadly backed Singapore’s stance, with insurers and major operators advised against payment to avoid legitimising the practice. A clip of Balakrishnan’s remarks, posted to social media on April 11, drew more than 3mn views and sharp debate over the tension between legal norms and geopolitical realities. Source link
Medical sources reported that three Palestinians were martyred, Monday, and several others wounded when an Israeli drone targeted a group of Palestinians in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.The Israeli entity continues to violate the ceasefire agreement that came into effect in October 2025 by carrying out airstrikes and artillery shelling on various areas across the Gaza Strip. Source link
(FILES) Bollywood playback singer Asha Bhosle attends an event celebrating ‘Marathi Bhasha Gaurav Diwas,’ also known as Marathi Language Day, in Mumbai on February 27, 2025.…
The Arab Parliament announced Sunday that it launched a broad international campaign across parliamentary, human rights, and international levels to confront the so-called execution law for Palestinian prisoners approved by Israel’s Knesset.In a statement, the Arab Parliament stressed that the discriminatory legislation represents one of the most dangerous forms of legitimising systematic political killing against the Palestinian people, describing it as a fully-fledged legislative crime that undermines international law and threatens the global justice system.Arab Parliament Speaker Mohammed bin Ahmed al-Yamahi sent a series of urgent official letters to UN Secretary-General, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as heads of regional and international parliaments, calling for immediate and decisive action to halt the implementation of the law and hold those responsible accountable before international justice.Al-Yamahi stressed in his letters that the adoption of this law constitutes an unprecedented escalation in Israeli occupation policies, effectively institutionalising a new phase of systematic executions of Palestinian prisoners under a false legislative cover.He described it as a blatant violation of Geneva Conventions, international humanitarian law, and all relevant international human rights instruments, warning that any international silence or inaction regarding this law would be considered direct complicity in a fully-fledged crime, would grant the occupying entity political cover to continue its crimes, and would open the door to a serious collapse in the international legitimacy system and entrench a policy of impunity.He called on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities and take urgent measures, including activating international accountability mechanisms, referring the crime to competent judicial bodies, ensuring immediate international protection for Palestinian prisoners, and forming independent fact-finding committees to investigate serious violations committed against them in Israeli occupation prisons.He also renewed calls to suspend and freeze the membership of Israeli Knesset in the Inter-Parliamentary Union and other international parliamentary forums, affirming that the Arab Parliament It will continue its political, diplomatic, and parliamentary efforts until the discriminatory law is repealed and the occupying authorities are held accountable for their escalating crimes against Palestinian prisoners. Related Story Source link