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US President Donald Trump said his country’s military have begun blockading Iranian ports in an effort to force Tehran to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz and accept Washington’s terms to end the war that has been raging since 28 February. At least two tankers approaching the Strait late on Monday turned around, according to a post on X by vessel tracker MarineTraffic, who announced the development shortly after the US Navy began its blockade. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said the blockade restricted “the entirety of the Iranian coastline, including ports and energy infrastructure.” Its notice to mariners…

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“I find President Trump’s remarks about the Holy Father unacceptable,” Meloni said in a statement on Monday. “The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and proper that he call for peace and condemn all forms of war.” Trump’s outburst has left Italian right-wing politicians under pressure to defend the Holy Father, given that their voters straddle nationalist conservatism and a strong attachment to Catholic tradition. Deputy Prime Minister and far-right League leader Matteo Salvini — a longtime supporter of Trump — was particularly vocal on Monday, telling local TV station Telelombardia that “if anyone…

A first round of negotiations on disarming Hezbollah in Lebanon and normalizing relations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to take place in Washington on Tuesday.Lebanese Ambassador to Washington Nada Hamadeh-Moawad, Israeli Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter, and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa will lead their respective delegations at the talks at the State Department, two people familiar with the matter said. They were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.Lebanon’s prime minister had originally been scheduled to travel to the U.S. this week, but postponed the trip on Saturday, citing “the current internal situation” in Lebanon.Meanwhile, Israel’s military is…

But the Hungarian election had been a major priority just days earlier. JD Vance had traveled to Budapest last week and while Trump didn’t make the trip himself, he did call into the rally. And that eleventh hour campaign push came weeks after another visit by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump, in his remarks via telephone during Orbán’s rally aside Vance last week, credited the autocrat for his strict immigration policy in particular, stating that he “kept your country strong, and he kept your country good, and you don’t have problems with all of the problems that so many other countries…

“Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea,” Trump said. “It is quick and brutal.”Trump announced a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, threatening to destroy “the little that is left of Iran” after peace talks led by Vice President JD Vance and Iranian representatives fell apart in Islamabad on Saturday. Trump on Monday praised Vance, telling reporters that “he’s done a good job.”“I can tell you that we’ve been…

Germany’s ruling coalition has agreed an emergency energy package after a weekend of marathon negotiations, cutting the mineral oil tax on diesel and petrol by around 17 cents per litre for two months in response to surging fuel prices. Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD), SPD leader Bärbel Bas and CSU chief Markus Söder presented the results at a press conference on Monday morning after talks that ran late into the night at Villa Borsig. “We all share the concern that we are in a difficult situation,” Merz said, citing both economic and…

The image — which Trump first posted on Truth Social late Sunday and deleted sometime Monday morning — is a rendering of Trump dressed in white robes in a Christ-like pose, placing a glowing hand over a sick man lying in a hospital bed, as if healing him. The image was adorned with patriotic imagery in the background, including the American flag, the Statue of Liberty and bald eagles.The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on either the criticism or deleting the post. But Trump denied any reference to Jesus, telling reporters at the White House…

Updated: 13/04/2026 – 16:51 GMT+2 Pope Leo XIV said he has no intention to debate with Donald Trump after the US president criticised him over his comments on the Iran war. “I have no fear of the Trump administration nor of speaking out loudly about the message of the gospel,” the pope told reporters aboard the papal plane. … More

Climate change and damaged ecosystems are making urban heat waves more intense, research shows, while air and noise pollution continues to be a problem across the continent. Increasing the number of trees and green spaces in cities could significantly reduce these pressures, however. Europe is a long way away from fully implementing the “3-30-300 principle,” a common guideline used in urban planning that says people should be able to see at least three mature trees from their houses, while tree canopies should cover 30 percent of all neighborhoods, and all urban dwellers should live within 300 meters of green spaces…