Israel and Hezbollah continue attacks after Israel-Lebanon talks in US

Israel and Hezbollah continue attacks after Israel-Lebanon talks in US34 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleSamantha GranvilleBeirutEPAOne Israeli strike hit a vehicle on a coastal highway in Jiyeh, south of BeirutFighting between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah has continued after Israel and Lebanon held direct talks in Washington aimed at easing the conflict.
On Wednesday, Israeli strikes hit two vehicles on the coastal highway south of Beirut, near the towns of Saadiyat and Jiyeh and outside Hezbollah's traditional strongholds.
Videos from one scene showed a burned-out van, with first responders working to extinguish the flames and recover human remains. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
In northern Israel, a man was wounded in the town of Tamra after Hezbollah launched about 30 rockets across the border, according to medics and the military.
Hezbollah said it had launched rockets at 10 locations in northern Israel…

Continue Reading

Trump says the Iran war is ‘close to over’. Is he just out of options?

AdvertisementUS, Israel war on IranChinaDiplomacyTrump says the Iran war is ‘close to over’. Is he just out of options?Several clocks are ticking for the American president as he looks for a way out of the deadlock, observers suggest
3-MIN READ3-MIN4 ListenFan ChenPublished: 10:00pm, 15 Apr 2026Donald Trump’s claim that the US war with Iran is nearing an end reflects a desire to break the conflict’s deadlock to ease political pressure at home, according to analysts.Halfway into a two-week ceasefire and with a stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz, the US president was running out of time, they said, adding that a deal was still possible.In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Trump said the United States was “not done” but the six-week-old war was nearing the finish line.
Advertisement“I think it’s close to over, yeah. I view it as very close to being over,” he said.
That is despite the failure of peace talks in Pakistan on the weekend and the start of a US naval blockade in the strait.A..

Continue Reading

Trump’s rift with Pope is playing out in public – it’s costing him valuable support

Trump's rift with Pope is playing out in public – it's costing him valuable support4 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleAleem MaqboolReligious affairs correspondent‘I pray they come together’ – Americans react to Trump’s feud with Pope LeoIt is not unusual for President Trump to face criticism from Catholic leaders.
His hardline immigration policies, promised in his campaign and cheered on by supporters, have prompted condemnation from church leaders.
For months it has put the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the US at odds with more right-leaning rank-and-file Catholics.
But the broad backlash in the last 48 hours, over Trump's attack on Pope Leo and his sharing of an AI image of himself as a Christ-like figure, is very different.
What is striking is where some of this criticism is coming from – loyal, conservative Catholic allies.
They are unhappy, not just because of Trump's public friction with Pope Leo, but at a much deeper level over the Iran war.
..

Continue Reading

‘Burger King bandit’: Indian man charged over stealing $3,500 from Florida outlet after he was fired from there

Indian man accused of stealing $3,500 from Burger King in Florida where he used to work as a manager.

Kris Kumar, an Indian man, who used to work at a Burger King outlet in Florida was called 'Burger King bandit' after the law enforcement found that he was behind the sudden disappearance of dollars from the restaurant safe. According to reports, Kumar used to be the manager of the outlet but he was fired as he missed several shifts. Kumar had the key and the security code of the safe and after $3,500 was stolen from the outlet, he was one of the suspects as he lost his job around the same time. The new manager of the outlet told the cops that someone had entered the business office and opened the safe using a code. Kumar was the only other person who would have known the combination. Investigators found out that Kumar had gone to a Home Depot before he was terminated to make a copy of the key for the restaurant. While he returned his official building key and his uniform af..

Continue Reading

Hong Kong landlords face HK$17,000 inspection bill over ignored water seepage

AdvertisementHong Kong societyHong KongSocietyHong Kong landlords face HK$17,000 inspection bill over ignored water seepageThe plan shifts responsibility of shouldering inspection costs from government to flat owners who fail to address water seepage problems
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenTheodora YuPublished: 10:40pm, 14 Apr 2026Updated: 10:45pm, 14 Apr 2026Hong Kong landlords who fail to fix water seepage affecting flats below face a minimum inspection bill of HK$17,000 (US$2,170) if they take no action within 28 days of notification under a pilot scheme designed to fast-track such cases.
The plan, launched by a joint office under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and Buildings Department, shifts the responsibility of shouldering inspection costs from the government to flat owners who fail to address water seepage problems.
Latest figures show 99 per cent of the confirmed water seepage cases last year were traced back to the flat directly above, resulting to about 5,000 nu..

Continue Reading

Woman, 65, charged in infamous abandoned baby ‘Rebecca’ case from 1981: ‘Maybe it was me’

A 65-year-old woman has been charged in the decades-old “Baby Rebecca” case from April 1981.
The case was first opened when a deceased infant was discovered in a wooded area on the Valley City State College campus in North Dakota.
The girl, who would later become known as Rebecca, was found with a plastic covering over her face and her umbilical cord still attached, according to a declaration of probable cause from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation. ​
Barnes County State’s Attorney Tonya Duffy confirmed during a press conference on April 13 that Nancy Jean Trottier had been charged in connection with the case.
According to Duffy, Trottier, from Sun Lakes, Arizona, has been handed a Class AA felony murder charge.
open image in galleryNancy Jean Trottier has been charged with murder in connection with the infamous 'Baby Rebecca' case (Stutsman County Correctional Center)Trottier had previously been interviewed in connection with the case in 2021, according to c..

Continue Reading

MTG forced to answer for previously comparing Trump to Jesus during awkward CNN interview

Former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has been forced to answer for previously comparing President Donald Trump to Jesus during an interview with CNN.
On Monday, CNN host Kaitlan Collins asked the Georgia Republican for her thoughts on one of Trump’s latest social media posts: an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus healing a sick man. The post drew condemnation from prominent Christian commentators and voices across the political spectrum. Trump later said he thought the image portrayed him as a doctor, not as Jesus.
Greene, who stepped down from Congress in January, unleashed sharp criticism.
“I thought that was blasphemy, and as a Christian, I was very offended,” she said. “That picture had him in a robe as Jesus is often portrayed with light coming out of his hands…I think he should apologize.”
open image in galleryFormer Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was forced to answer for previously comparing President Donald Trump to Jesus during an interview with CNN (CNN..

Continue Reading

US blockade of Iran ports irresponsible and dangerous, China says

US blockade of Iran ports irresponsible and dangerous, China says28 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJames GregoryReutersChina has called the US naval blockade of Iranian ports “irresponsible and dangerous”.
Beijing's foreign ministry said the move would “undermine the already fragile ceasefire agreement” and further jeopardise the safety of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway Iran effectively closed in response to US-Israeli strikes.
The blockade came into force on Monday, a day after peace talks between the US and Iran broke down in Pakistan.
US President Donald Trump said the measure is intended to force Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. Analysts say the move is also designed to pressure China – the biggest buyer of Iranian oil – to encourage Tehran to open the strait.
Iran's ambassador to the UN has described the US blockade as a “grave violation” of Tehran's sovereignty.
Up until now, Chinese vessels have been among the ..

Continue Reading

Hamas rejects Gaza disarmament plan, Palestinian official says

Hamas rejects Gaza disarmament plan, Palestinian official says38 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleRushdi AboualofGaza correspondent, IstanbulReutersThe Gaza ceasefire came into effect in October but is yet to move to its next stageHamas has rejected the disarmament plan of a top figure in President Donald Trump's Gaza peace efforts, a senior Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations has told the BBC.
He accused Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on the US-led Board of Peace, of bias towards Israel. Last month, Mladenov outlined a framework for Gaza's demilitarisation as part of the second phase of the ceasefire deal agreed by Hamas and Israel in October.
The official said Hamas told regional mediators that it would not engage in talks on the second phase until Israel fully implemented the terms of the first phase.
Israel has said it will not move forward without progress on Hamas's disarmament.
A Hamas delegation in Cairo was due t..

Continue Reading

Xi Jinping’s meeting with Abu Dhabi crown prince highlights Gulf turn towards China

AdvertisementChina-Middle East relationsChinaDiplomacyXi Jinping’s meeting with Abu Dhabi crown prince highlights Gulf turn towards ChinaAnalysts said the trip was a sign that the UAE was seeking ‘more reliable partners’ in the wake of the US-Israeli war on Iran
4-MIN READ4-MIN1 ListenShi JiangtaoPublished: 10:00pm, 14 Apr 2026Updated: 10:27pm, 14 Apr 2026Chinese President Xi Jinping ‌called for a more robust, resilient and dynamic ‌strategic partnership with the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, as Beijing intensified what observers have described as its “quiet but pragmatic” diplomacy during the Iran crisis.In a meeting with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu ‌Dhabi, Xi unveiled a four-point proposal to safeguard Middle East stability, stressing the importance of national sovereignty, the international rule of law and the central role of the United Nations.
“The authority of the international rule of law should be upheld and cannot be used when conv..

Continue Reading