Trump says Iran can play world cup after Fifa confirmation – ICYMITrump says Iran can play world cup after Fifa confirmation
Alex Croft3 May 2026 08:07
Iran must urgently free Nobel laureate Mohammadi to get medical help, says Nobel body
Iranian authorities must release Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to her dedicated medical team so she can urgently receive treatment as her life remains at risk, the head of the Nobel Peace Prize committee told Reuters on Saturday.
The health of Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her campaign for human rights in Iran in 2023, has “deteriorated seriously”, said Joergen Watne Frydnes, citing her family and lawyer.
(AP)
Alex Croft3 May 2026 07:47
Lebanese commander meets US general in Beirut to discuss Lebanon situation
Lebanese armed forces commander General Rudolf Haykal and US General Joseph Clearfield met in Beirut to discuss the security situation in Lebanon and regional developments, the army said on Saturday in a statement.
Clearfield heads a committee monitoring a US-backed ceasefire in fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The participants at the meeting underlined the importance of the Lebanese army’s role and the need to support it during the current phase, the statement said.
Alex Croft3 May 2026 07:29
Lindsey Graham says US should ‘finish the job’ if Iran does not yield
Republican senator Lindsey Graham has said US president Donald Trump should “finish the job” in Iran and resume military strikes if Tehran continues to be “provocative”.
Talking to the FT, Graham said the US needs to “open up the strait” to break the stalemate, noting it will need harsher military action.
“We have the capability to increase ship flow,” he said in an interview on Thursday.
The US should do “whatever combination of events is necessary to start the flow” of ships and “take the leverage away from Iran”, the close-aide of Trump said.
“Between the blockade, which has been brilliantly executed, and letting Iran know that Kharg Island is in play, hopefully that will create some deterrence,” Graham said, referring to Iran’s oil export hub.
“If it doesn’t, [we need to] just stand up to Iran, don’t let them get away with blackmailing the world.” energy prices.
(Getty)
Arpan Rai3 May 2026 07:08
Israel threatens attack on 12 Lebanon towns, warns residents to flee
The Israeli military has said it will attack 12 towns and villages in southern Lebanon, ordering residents to flee their homes, in what it claims are operations against Hezbollah.
The towns and villages are al-Duwayr, Arab Salim, al-Sharqiya (Nabatieh), Jibshit, Braashit, Sarafand, Dounin, Briqa, Qaaqaiya al-Jisr, al-Qasiba (Nabatieh) and Kfar Sir, reported Al Jazeera.
The IDF also asked residents to move at least 1,000 metres from their towns and villages to open areas.
Arpan Rai3 May 2026 06:18
Trump’s war with Iran is as unpopular as Vietnam, new poll finds
Approximately 61 percent of the 2,560 people surveyed by Ipsos, The Washington Post and ABC News said the United States made a mistake in using military force against Iran. Just 36 percent of people said it was the right decision.
That is the same percentage of people who said the U.S. sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake in 1971, according to Gallup, and a similar percentage of people – 59 percent – who said the US made a mistake going to war with Iraq in 2006, according to the Washington Post.
Arpan Rai3 May 2026 05:51
Spirit Airlines shuts down immediately, cancelling all flights
Low-cost Spirit Airlines announced early Saturday that it would shut down its operations immediately after 34 years in business, leaving thousands of passengers scrambling to rebook their travel on other airlines.
The company, which operated hundreds of daily flights across the U.S. and employed 17,000 people, had been in discussions with the Trump administration about a $500m rescue package, but no deal was reached.
But the effort has stalled because Spirit has been unable to secure the necessary backing from bondholders and government stakeholders, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal on Friday.
The airline said on its website that all flights have been canceled and customer service is no longer available.
Arpan Rai3 May 2026 05:42
Tanker carrying gas for India crosses Strait of Hormuz
Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Sarv Shakti, loaded with 46,313 metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas for India, crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, India’s shipping ministry said.
The vessel with 20 crew members on board, 18 of them Indian, was expected to arrive at the eastern Indian port of Visakhapatnam on 13 May, it said in a statement.
Arpan Rai3 May 2026 05:36
Trump says US will reduce number of troops in Germany ‘a lot further’ after withdrawing 5,000
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the US would significantly reduce its troop presence in Germany, escalating a dispute with chancellor Friedrich Merz as he sought to scale back America’s commitment to European security.
The Pentagon on Friday had announced it would pull some 5,000 troops out of Germany, but when asked Saturday about the reason for the move, Trump didn’t offer an explanation and said an even bigger reduction was coming.
“We’re going to cut way down. And we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000,” he told reporters in Florida.
Earlier on Saturday, Germany’s defence minister appeared to take in stride the news that 5,000 US troops would be leaving his country.
Boris Pistorius said the drawdown, which Trump had threatened for years, was expected, and that European nations needed to take on more responsibility for their own defence.
He emphasized, however, that security cooperation benefited both sides of the trans-Atlantic partnership.
“The presence of American soldiers in Europe, and especially in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the US,” Pistorius told the German news agency dpa.
Arpan Rai3 May 2026 05:02
Iran must urgently free Nobel laureate Mohammadi to get medical help, says Nobel body
Iranian authorities must release Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to her dedicated medical team so she can urgently receive treatment as her life remains at risk, the head of the Nobel Peace Prize committee told Reuters on Saturday.
The health of Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her campaign for human rights in Iran in 2023, has “deteriorated seriously”, said Joergen Watne Frydnes, citing her family and lawyer.
Arpan Rai3 May 2026 04:53