Author: staff

Published on 08/04/2026 – 12:04 GMT+2 Taiwan opposition leader Cheng Li-wun arrived in China on Tuesday at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, in what she’s calling a “journey for peace” as Beijing continued its decades-long push for the self-ruled island to come under its control. The visit is the first by a Taiwanese opposition leader in a decade and comes ahead of a meeting in Beijing between Xi and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, scheduled for May. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament has stalled its government’s attempts to pass a $40 billion (€34.2 billion) special defence budget, expected to fund…

Published on 08/04/2026 – 13:33 GMT+2•Updated 13:36 Two ships have become the first to transit the Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Iran agreed an overnight ceasefire, according to maritime monitor MarineTraffic. The Greek-owned bulk carrier NJ Earth crossed the strait at 10:44 am CET, while the Liberia-flagged Daytona Beach transited earlier at 8:59 am CET, after departing the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas a bit over an hour earlier at 7:28 am CET. The passages mark the first confirmed transits under what are likely the new terms of the truce affecting the world’s most critical energy chokepoint.…

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it “a moment of relief” and is set to travel to the Middle East on Wednesday to work with Gulf partners on making the reopening of the strait permanent. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the goal now was a “lasting end to the war.” Pope Leo said he welcomed the ceasefire announcement “with satisfaction and deep hope,” after condemning as “unacceptable” Trump’s threat on Tuesday to erase an entire civilization. “Only through a return to the negotiating table can we bring the war to an end,” the Pontiff said after his general audience Wednesday…

Published on 08/04/2026 – 12:21 GMT+2 Reports of the two-week US-Iran ceasefire potentially opening the Strait of Hormuz to vessels after over a month of near-total closure has prompted shipping companies to weigh their options against persistent uncertainties. The world’s second-largest container shipping operator, Maersk, has taken the lead in responding to the development. “The ceasefire may create transit opportunities, but it does not yet provide full maritime certainty and we need to understand all potential conditions attached,” the Danish company stated. Maersk further guaranteed it is “working with urgency” to clarify exactly how ships will be able to pass…

The Israeli defense minister said in late March that Israel would remain in southern Lebanon — a region it illegally occupied from 1982 to 2000 — even after the current conflict ends. Macron has repeatedly condemned attacks against Lebanon, one of France’s closest allies in the Middle East, and urged the Israeli government to start talks with its Lebanese counterparts. France has also accused Israeli soldiers of seeking to “intimidate” French military forces taking part in a United Nations peacekeeping mission in the region. But it is unclear whether the Pakistani-brokered U.S.-Iran ceasefire — which the French president hailed as…

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte begins a scheduled three-day visit to Washington on Wednesday, amid renewed threats from US President Donald Trump that he is considering withdrawing from the alliance. Rutte is expected to meet Trump following Tuesday’s last-minute reprieve in tensions with Tehran, which reportedly includes a two-week ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, although the terms remain unclear. He will meet the US president alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the White House later on Wednesday. Rutte is also due to hold talks with members of Congress and deliver…

Hundreds of people gathered on bridges in Iran to form human chains following a government call to protect key infrastructure. Footage shows crowds holding Iranian flags on the White Bridge in Ahvaz and on a historic bridge in Dezful. The move comes amid heightened tensions, after warnings from the United States over the conflict. The gatherings took place before Washington and Tehran announced a two-week ceasefire. Authorities had earlier urged citizens to take part in displays of support.

Officials believe the hacking group used the stolen data to conduct cyberattacks, information sabotage and intelligence gathering and focused on military, government and critical infrastructure targets. “The Russians tried their best to cover all vulnerable routers, while redirecting requests only to domains they were interested in. For example, *.gov.ua, or with names corresponding to Microsoft Outlook, military systems,” said a law enforcement official taking part in the joint operation, granted anonymity to disclose more details. Ukraine’s SBU said “the Russian special services paid special attention to information exchanged between employees and servicemen of state bodies, units of the Ukrainian Defense…

In an interview on Euronews’ flagship programme, MEP Marc Botenga (The Left, Belgium) welcomed the two-week ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement mere hours before the expiration of his ultimatum to Tehran. Yet Botenga was highly critical of the EU’s response to the crisis, telling Euronews’ flagship morning show Europe Today that the EU’s position had been “horrible”. “The European Union has done nothing, no diplomatic efforts whatsoever for a crisis that not only is violating human rights, is violating international law, but was also violating our interests,” said Botenga. The two-week ceasefire…

Published on 08/04/2026 – 9:37 GMT+2 North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Wednesday in its second launch event in two days, South Korea’s military said. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles lifted off from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area and flew about 240 kilometres each in a direction toward the North’s eastern waters. South Korea maintains readiness to repel any provocations, backed by a solid military alliance with the US, the statement said. Seoul later said Pyongyang fired an additional ballistic missile toward its eastern waters without giving further details. The…