Middle East tensions simmer as U.S.–Iran talks loom and strike kills 13- Friday, 10 April
Amid fragile calm, António Guterres urged constructive U.S.- Iran talks, while Pope Leo XIV warned violence is spreading. Lebanon's Pres...
Participants in the Sumud Flotilla have arrived in Slovakia after being deported from Israel, following their attempt to deliver aid to Gaza.
Several activists who took part in the Sumud Flotilla landed in Bratislava on Monday after Israeli authorities blocked their mission and expelled them from the country.
Israel said it deported 170 people involved in the international effort to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, sending them to Slovakia and Greece. Authorities have so far deported at least 341 of the 479 detained activists.
Some of the deportees accused Israel of mistreatment during detention. Dutch participant Sander de Koning said personal belongings were confiscated and access to lawyers and basic needs such as water was restricted.
Others, like Peter Svestka, emphasized that the mission was not about their own treatment but about drawing attention to what they described as “genocide” in Gaza.
Spanish activists also alleged mistreatment on their arrival in Spain late on Sunday after being deported.
"They beat us, dragged us along the ground, blindfolded us, tied our hands and feet, put us in cages and insulted us," lawyer Rafael Borrego told reporters at Madrid's airport.
Israel’s Minister of Justice Yariv Levin said on Monday that 170 flotilla activists have been deported, and of the 309 still in custody in Israel 200 were expected to be expelled in the next 24 hours.
Swedish activists on Saturday claimed that climate campaigner Greta Thunberg was shoved and forced to wear an Israeli flag during her detention, while others said they had clean food and water withheld and had their medication and belongings confiscated.
Israel’s foreign ministry rejected the allegations, insisting that all detainees’ legal rights were respected. It added that the only reported incident of violence came when an activist allegedly bit a medic at Ketziot prison.
The deportees include citizens from across Europe, as well as the United States, reflecting the international nature of the flotilla.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has given an instruction for Israel to begin peace talks with Lebanon that would also include the disarming of Hezbollah.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to continue dialogue and avoid steps that could worsen tensions after China-hosted talks in Urumqi, with Kabul and Beijing saying the meetings focused on easing differences and improving relations.
Amid fragile calm, António Guterres urged constructive U.S.- Iran talks, while Pope Leo XIV warned violence is spreading. Lebanon's President said an Israeli strike killed 13 security personnel in Nabatieh.
Memorial events were held in Tehran’s main squares on Wednesday (8 April) to mark the 40th day since the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died during U.S.-Israeli attacks on 28 February.
Dubai has restricted foreign airlines to one daily flight to its airports until 31 May due to the Iran crisis, raising fears of significant revenue losses for Indian carriers, industry letters show.
A charity co-founded by Prince Harry in honour of his late mother, Princess Diana, is suing him for libel at the High Court in London, according to a court record published on Friday (10 April).
The European Union and Washington are nearing an agreement to coordinate the production and security of critical minerals, Bloomberg News reported on Friday (10 April).
In a forceful rebuke to Washington’s foreign policy in the Americas, a senior Russian diplomat has declared that Moscow will never abandon Cuba, pledging ongoing support to help the Communist-run island overcome a severe energy crisis linked to the United States embargo.
Hungary votes on Sunday in a parliamentary election that could loosen Viktor Orbán’s 16-year hold on power. His ruling Fidesz faces a strong challenge from Péter Magyar’s Tisza party, which has led some polls, though many voters remain undecided.
While a fragile ceasefire in the Iran war may deliver badly needed relief to economies battered by the world’s worst-ever energy crisis, hopes it will quickly restore normal oil and gas flows from the Middle East are almost certainly misplaced.
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