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Iraq’s Civil Aviation Authority announced Friday a one-week extension of the country’s airspace closure to all incoming, outgoing, and transit flights, effective from midday. The Authority’s statement said the move was based on ongoing security assessments and regional developments, with a review to follow Source link
At least five people were killed and 13 injured in a suicide car bombing targeting a police station in northwestern Pakistan. Authorities said the attacker drove an explosives-laden vehicle into the rear of the compound in Domel, causing extensive damage to the facility and nearby homes. The blast was followed by sporadic gunfire, and several injured victims remain in critical condition. No group has claimed responsibility Source link
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in Saudi Arabia on Friday for a previously unannounced visit, with stops also planned in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as part of a two-day regional tour.The visit aims to demonstrate support for Gulf partners amid ongoing Iranian attacks, while also addressing concerns over Italy’s energy security and the stability of global oil and gas flows. The trip marks the first visit by a European Union leader to Saudi Arabia since the escalation of conflict involving the United States and Israel in late February, as concerns grow in Rome over disruptions to critical energy supplies. Prior to the crisis, around 10% of Italy’s gas demand was met through Qatari LNG, while Middle Eastern oil accounted for approximately 12% of total imports. However, recent tensions and the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz have led to supply disruptions, including a pause in LNG deliveries and the cancellation of multiple cargo shipments. Italian officials are now looking to diversify supply sources, with LNG imports from the United States’ Golden Pass facility expected to begin from June. Source link
Global food prices rose in March to their highest level since December 2025, marking the second consecutive monthly increase. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported on Friday that its Food Price Index, which tracks changes in a basket of internationally traded food commodities, reached 128.5 points in March, up 2.4 percent compared to adjusted February level. In a separate report, the FAO slightly raised its forecast for global cereal production in 2025 to 3.036 billion tons, representing an annual increase of about 5.8 percent. Source link
General Command of Bahrain’s Defense Force stated that air defense systems have intercepted and destroyed 188 missiles and 445 drones since the start of Iranian attacks targeting the kingdom. The Defense Force condemned, in a statement, the strikes on civilian areas as a serious violation of international law and a direct threat to regional security. Residents were urged to exercise caution, avoid affected areas, and rely on official sources for information. Source link
US President Donald Trump has dismissed Attorney General Pam Bondi, appointing her deputy Todd Blanche as acting head of the Justice Department. Trump praised Bondi as a great patriot, crediting her with leading a broad anti-crime campaign, and said she will move to a private sector role. During her tenure, Bondi strongly backed the president’s agenda and drew criticism over the Justice Department’s independence. Source link
Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said an Iranian attack struck a power and water desalination plant on Friday, causing damage to parts of the facility.Emergency and technical teams were deployed under contingency plans to maintain operations and secure the site, the ministry’s spokesperson, Fatima Hayat, said in a statement carried by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). Source link
– Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that amid the current international turmoil, China and Europe have a shared responsibility to strengthen communication and safeguard the international system based on international law, with the United Nations at its core.This came during a phone conversation he had today with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas.The Chinese foreign minister said that the international community was strongly in favor of a ceasefire as tge the best solution to ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. He added that all parties must build greater consensus and create the necessary conditions to achieve that goal.For her part, Kallas said that Europe did not participate in the war but suffered from its repercussions, expressing the EU’s hope for rapid de-escalation and the resumption of and negotiations Source link
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (Reuters/File Photo) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said there will have to be a transition phase in Venezuela and the country will need free and fair elections, though he added that there needs to be patience until that point is reached.”Ultimately, there will have to be a transition phase,” Rubio said in an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” show. “There will have to be free and fair elections in Venezuela. And that point has to come.””We have to be patient, but we also can’t be complacent.”The US military seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a deadly raid in January that was ordered by President Donald Trump. The United Nations’ human rights office has said the raid was a violation of international law.At the time, Trump said Washington would “run” Venezuela. Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, subsequently took over and has been governing the country under US oversight.Following US moves in Venezuela, Trump has talked of acting against Cuba and pressuring its leadership.Rubio said in Tuesday’s interview that Cuba needed economic and political reforms and Washington would soon have more news on that country.”So I think Cuba is in need of two things, economic reforms and political reforms, you cannot fix their economy if you don’t change their system of government,” Rubio said.The US cut off Venezuela’s oil exports to Cuba after toppling Maduro in early January and Trump threatened to apply punishing tariffs on any other country that sent crude to Cuba.Cuba’s energy crisis has caused blackouts across the country of 10mn. Health officials say the crisis has increased the mortality risk for cancer patients, especially children.Human rights experts say Trump’s focus on exploiting Venezuelan oil and his threats against Cuba echoed an imperialist approach. Related Story Source link
US President Donald Trump, alongside Attorney-General Pam Bondi (right), speaks during a news conference. (AFP/File photo)) US President Donald Trump fired Attorney-General Pam Bondi Thursday and named his former personal lawyer to serve as the acting chief of the Justice Department.The move, which the Republican president announced in a social media post, comes amid criticism of Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files and her failure to successfully prosecute several perceived Trump political foes.”Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year,” Trump said on Truth Social. “Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in Crime across our Country.”Bondi “will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector to be announced at a date in the near future,” the president said, and will be replaced on an interim basis by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.Bondi has been a staunch ally of the president but has drawn fire from some Trump supporters for her handling of the release of the Justice Department files on convicted Jeffrey Epstein.The Epstein affair has been a major political liability for Trump, who was a longtime friend of the disgraced financier.Bondi has also reportedly drawn Trump’s ire by falling short with efforts to prosecute perceived Trump opponents such as former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney-General Letitia James.According to The New York Times, Trump may name former Republican congressman Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to be the next attorney-general.In the meantime, the post will be filled by Blanche, who was one of the personal lawyers who defended Trump in the multiple criminal cases he faced after he left the White House in 2021.Bondi’s ouster comes nearly a month after Trump fired Kristi Noem as the head of the Department of Homeland Security.Democratic lawmakers welcomed Bondi’s firing.”Good riddance,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.”Under Attorney-General Pam Bondi, the Department of Justice (DOJ) became a cesspool of corruption,” Warren said. “Bondi will be remembered for blocking the release of the Epstein files (and) weaponising the DOJ to go after Trump’s political opponents.”Senator Mark Warner of Virginia said Bondi’s “botched handling of the Epstein files” had “denied victims transparency and further undermined trust in our justice system.””Americans deserve a Justice Department that is actually focused on delivering justice, not on serving a president’s agenda of personal and political self-interest,” Warner said.Bondi joined Trump’s legal team during his first term impeachment trial, in which he was alleged to have pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to find political dirt on Democrat Joe Biden.Trump was impeached by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives but acquitted by the Republican-majority Senate.Bondi helped push Trump’s false claims of voter fraud after he lost the 2020 election to Biden.She made television appearances on behalf of Trump and pushed to delegitimise vote counting in battleground states as part of the push by the former president to overturn the results of the vote.Bondi also criticised the criminal cases brought against Trump, appearing in solidarity at his New York trial, where he was convicted of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star.Bondi served as a prosecutor for 18 years before being elected Florida’s attorney-general in 2010, the first woman to hold the post. She was re-elected to a second term in 2014. Related Story Source link