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JOHANNESBURG — South Africa broke ground Thursday on a second temporary facility designed to process the return of Malawian nationals to their home country. The move comes after thousands of people took to the streets earlier this year in Johannesburg and other South African cities to protest illegal immigration — unrest that has stoked tensions between South African residents and foreign nationals living in the country.

At the same time, thousands more Malawian citizens continued arriving at the first deportation processing site, located in the Sherwood area of the city of Durban. Roughly 10,000 people have been camped at that location for more than a week, waiting for transportation back to Malawi.

On Wednesday, the situation at the Sherwood site turned violent. Police deployed rubber bullets and stun grenades against migrants who were throwing rocks, sticks, and logs at officers. Local media in South Africa attributed the clashes to growing frustration over how long the deportation process was taking.

The second facility is intended to ease conditions at the overcrowded Sherwood site, where women and young children have been packed in alongside thousands of men. South African officials reported that at least 12 women had given birth at the site since Malawians began gathering there.

Authorities from both South Africa and Malawi have spent recent weeks working together to organize the large-scale return of Malawian citizens who say they left due to fears of anti-migrant hostility and potential violence.

South African officials explained that the deportation process requires Malawians to appear before a court, since they were in the country without legal status. The pace of returns has also been slowed by a shortage of buses provided by the Malawian government, which has also appealed for donations to help cover the cost of transporting people home.

PARIS (AP) — It could stand as one of Emmanuel Macron’s final major foreign policy achievements as France’s leader: drawing U.S. President Donald Trump to a historic evening at the Palace of Versailles, where Trump signed an initial agreement to bring the Iran war to an end.

But that dramatic moment was just one highlight from a G7 summit where Macron’s nearly decade-long experience on the world stage and the relationships he has cultivated paid off in significant ways.

Among the most notable accomplishments was persuading Trump to take a stronger stance in support of Ukraine’s fight against Russia — a significant victory for European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, coming after a diplomatic stumble at the White House back in March 2025.

“Bravo,” Macron said following Trump’s signing of the Iran agreement. The signing caught most of the officials and guests at the Versailles Palace dinner off guard, and the room responded with applause.

Macron had framed the dinner as a celebration of the friendship between France and the United States. The unplanned signing ceremony turned it into a symbolic capstone to Macron’s week-long effort to bring Trump into greater alignment with European positions — potentially among his last significant achievements before his term concludes next spring.

Macron had described Versailles as an “instrument of influence” and suggested the exclusive invitation could help keep Trump engaged through the close of the G7 summit held in Evian. Trump had departed last year’s summit in Canada before it wrapped up.

The Palace of Versailles — which Trump praised as “not gold leaf” — has served as a venue for French leaders to welcome distinguished guests for more than three centuries.

Following the signing, Macron praised the Iran agreement as one that “allows for putting an end to the conflict, that allows peace, that allows the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz” and said it would likely lead to lower oil prices.

Macron was not part of the Iran war negotiations and cannot take credit for Trump’s decision to sign the deal. However, he secured the historic setting, helping to place Europe back into the spotlight of a conflict that the U.S. and Israel launched together without consulting their Western allies.

French Economy Minister Roland Lescure, who was present at the dinner, said the signing was largely unplanned and improvised.

Lescure said Trump announced during his remarks that he intended to sign the agreement. When asked whether Macron had prior knowledge, Lescure said he believed Trump had told the French president shortly before the moment arrived.

“But for us, ministers in the French government, it was a surprise,” Lescure told French radio RTL.

Trump arrived in France under domestic pressure over Iran, including criticism from some of his own allies about how he had handled the conflict and the deal taking shape. Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s closest supporters and a longtime hardliner on Iran, had voiced skepticism about the agreement.

As negotiations with Iran moved forward, Trump sought support from G7 leaders, according to a European diplomat familiar with the discussions who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to comment publicly. The G7 includes the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Canada, and Japan.

“We certainly gave him some reassurance on the Middle East,” the European diplomat said. “And President Trump, for his part, delivered for us on Ukraine.”

The G7’s statement on geopolitical matters described a “breakthrough” in the Middle East and mentioned Trump by name three times, praising what it called his “strong leadership.”

Trump has had tensions with Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over his failure to consult them before deciding to go to war. He has also pushed back on those four NATO members for not supporting the U.S. in the conflict.

Macron, whose relationship with Trump has been bumpy since an unusually prolonged handshake nearly a decade ago, spent months preparing for the G7 summit through regular phone calls centered on both Iran and Ukraine.

On the sidelines of the summit, Trump met with Zelenskyy, who showed him photographs documenting the destruction caused by Russian bombing of the Dormition Cathedral in Kyiv.

Macron has at times expressed wariness about Trump’s shifting stances, particularly when it comes to Russia and President Vladimir Putin. But European officials argued that the written commitments made this week carry more lasting weight because Trump himself approved the language.

“America is with us on Ukraine. That is very important,” Macron said after Trump joined a three-way phone call with Zelenskyy from Versailles.

G7 leaders agreed in a joint statement to step up deliveries of air-defense systems and long-range weapons to Ukraine. They also committed to ramping up pressure on Russia through tougher sanctions, including measures aimed at the country’s oil and gas industries.

Macron also used the summit as an opportunity to raise the issue of Lebanon’s future with Trump. France has deep historical ties to Lebanon and has worked to keep international attention focused on Lebanese sovereignty. During discussions in Evian, Trump repeatedly expressed sympathy toward Lebanon while criticizing Israel and describing friction with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s Communist Party, known as the PCC, gave its approval Thursday to an emergency economic package that includes unprecedented free-market measures designed to breathe new life into the country’s struggling economy at a time of intensifying pressure from the United States.

The plan, which has not yet been released to the public, is set to be submitted Thursday to Cuba’s National Assembly. Among its key elements are expanded opportunities for private businesses, greater independence for local municipalities and state-run companies, and steps to draw in more foreign investment — including money from Cubans living overseas.

The announcement follows a wave of unrest on the island, where residents in multiple Havana neighborhoods took to the streets in recent days, banging pots and pans in protest as electricity blackouts continued to spread across Cuba.

In the closing address of the Communist Party session late Wednesday — a speech that was released publicly on Thursday — President Miguel Díaz-Canel defended the island’s resilience while condemning outside pressure. “Cuba resists heroically and creatively, but has endured for too long a barbaric, undeserved and unbearable punishment, to which is now added the threat of military aggression,” he said.

Díaz-Canel noted that the emergency plan and the accompanying policy document, drafted by the Communist Party’s Central Committee, were modeled in part on the economic experiences of China and Vietnam — two communist-led nations that have introduced market-style reforms while keeping one-party political control intact.

The policy document will head to the National Assembly for debate during a special session. Like the recent party meeting itself, that session was called without any advance public announcement.

The move comes after months of escalating tensions with the U.S. and high-level conversations between the two countries that have included Raúl Castro’s grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro. Washington has imposed numerous sanctions on Cuba and has indicted Raúl Castro in connection with the 1996 shooting down of two civilian aircraft operated by Cuban exiles based in Miami.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance addressed the situation at a White House press briefing, saying the administration is closely monitoring Cuba’s next moves. “We’re going to see what they do. And obviously, if they do one thing, we’re going to do something,” Vance said. “If they make smart decisions, we’re going to have a much better relationship with that island.”

Major shipping companies have started moving their vessels through the Strait of Hormuz following a U.S.-Iran interim agreement to end hostilities, according to maritime data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence, which announced the development Thursday.

During a media briefing, Lloyd’s List editor in chief Richard Meade noted that for the first time in 110 days, ships belonging to major companies were crossing the strait. The vessels had essentially been stranded there since February.

The strait serves as one of the world’s most vital shipping corridors for oil and natural gas. Prior to the war, the waterway — located off Iran’s coast — carried roughly one-fifth of the globe’s crude oil supply. Its closure during the conflict triggered a historic energy crisis.

Lloyd’s List did not disclose exactly how many ships had made the crossing as of Thursday, but confirmed that tankers operated by major shipowners Grimaldi Group, Cosco, Knutsen, and NYK had successfully passed through. Additionally, two sanctioned crude oil tankers flying the Iranian flag and owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company also entered the strait, according to the firm.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance announced Thursday that the U.S. Navy had lifted its blockade of the strait, allowing certain vessels access to Iranian ports.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani posted on X that an Italian merchant vessel belonging to the Grimaldi Group was among the first ships to make the transit following the signing of the agreement.

Separate maritime tracking company Kpler reported observing six confirmed ship crossings on Wednesday, followed by 11 more on Thursday.

Phillip Belcher, marine director of Intertanko — a trade organization representing independent tanker owners worldwide — explained that the strait’s main central route remains closed and contains an estimated 80 mines awaiting clearance. Ships have instead been using a smaller northern route through Iranian waters and a southern route through Omani waters.

“Those two routes now seem to be fully open,” Belcher said.

Still, a complete reopening of the strait could take weeks or even months, and the two alternate routes lack the capacity of the main central passage.

“This is like a highway where the road in the middle is closed and you’re using that hard shoulder,” Belcher said. “That’s now being used as the main route. We need to get back to having the highway open.”

Lloyd’s List estimates that approximately 550 merchant ships will need to prepare to exit the Persian Gulf, a group that includes around 160 tankers, 200 bulk carriers, 60 container ships, and 10 vehicle carriers.

A historic agreement between the United States and Iran — the first deal signed by leaders of both nations since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979 — is drawing sharply divided reactions across the Middle East.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the interim accord on Wednesday, bringing a formal end to a three-month war. Trump chose the Palace of Versailles, on the sidelines of the G7 summit, as the location to formalize the agreement — a venue widely interpreted as symbolizing a reshaping of the international order following the conflict.

The 14-point deal extends an existing ceasefire by 60 days, including in Lebanon, to allow time for negotiations toward a permanent settlement and to address unresolved issues including Iran’s nuclear program.

Supporters are calling it a transformational moment. Lebanese commentator Sarkis Naoum described it as nothing short of a grand bargain. “For Washington and Tehran, this is a grand bargain — the deal of the century, with no turning back,” he said. “The probability of success outweighs the risk of failure. Iran cannot endure further economic pain under sanctions, and Trump has no incentive to start a new war.”

But for Iran’s adversaries — including Israel, Gulf states, and factions in Lebanon — the agreement looks far more troubling. Israeli analyst Danny Citrinowicz called it a strategic “catastrophe,” arguing that what had been framed as a joint U.S.-Israeli effort to weaken or even bring down the Islamic Republic has instead resulted in American recognition of Iran’s government.

“We went to topple the regime with U.S. backing and ended with Washington effectively giving legitimacy and strengthening the same regime we wanted to bring down,” said Citrinowicz, a senior Iran researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.

He contends the deal delivers none of Israel’s core demands: there are no restrictions placed on Iran’s missile program or its regional proxy forces, and no clear roadmap for dismantling its nuclear facilities. Even Israel’s military operations in Lebanon have been constrained by the ceasefire framework, which was included at Iran’s insistence.

Citrinowicz warned that Iran has gained significant room to maneuver, and that the deal risks cementing its regional position while leaving Israel increasingly isolated. “Everything is bad,” he said bluntly. “And it’s only going to get worse.”

If the agreement holds, Iran appears to come out ahead: the war ends, sanctions relief is phased in, oil exports resume, and massive reconstruction funding becomes possible — all alongside an implicit acceptance of Iran’s political system by the West.

The United States and Israel launched the war on February 28, beginning with the assassination of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian figures in the opening days of the conflict. The war escalated rapidly, killing more than 7,000 people — mostly in Iran and Lebanon — while driving up global energy prices and raising fears of a food crisis in developing nations.

In Lebanon, the deal is seen as tilting the balance toward Iran, reinforcing the role of Tehran-backed Hezbollah and drawing the country into a broader U.S.-Iran diplomatic framework while sidelining direct talks between Beirut and Israel.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun cautioned last week that Iran does not have the authority to negotiate on Lebanon’s behalf on matters such as the ceasefire terms and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanese territory.

However, sources close to Hezbollah argue the opposite — that the U.S.-Iran track actually strengthens Lebanon’s standing by elevating its situation into a higher-level negotiation, with both Washington and Tehran able to pressure their respective allies toward a settlement.

Concern is running highest in the Gulf, where Iranian attacks during the conflict rattled confidence in long-standing security arrangements. Gulf states have emerged as the war’s biggest losers — left on the sidelines as decisions reshaped their security environment, and now facing the consequences.

Gulf sources say the deal is already changing strategic calculations in the region: eroding trust in U.S. security guarantees, entrenching Iran as a permanent regional force, and pushing countries toward accommodation rather than confrontation with Tehran.

Iran expert Alex Vatanka offered a different perspective, arguing the deal represents the least damaging outcome available after years of failed attempts to pressure Iran through force. “They tried to take Iran down militarily. They couldn’t. The alternative would have been catastrophic — a wider war could have devastated the Gulf for decades,” said Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington.

He cautioned that the real challenges are still ahead — in carrying out the terms of the deal, resolving the nuclear question, and managing the regional fallout. “It’s big, but it’s not the end of it. It’s just the beginning,” he said.

Some analysts point to Israel as the most unpredictable factor going forward. While few believe Israel would directly derail a process backed by Trump, risks remain — particularly in Lebanon. “Israel has been isolated, after this war, both in the region and in the world,” said one Iranian official, who asked not to be identified.

A second Iranian official added: “Iran got what it wanted… We did not abandon our friends, such as Hezbollah, rather, we were even prepared to go to the extent of walking away from the table and returning to war because of them.”

An interim deal to end the conflict with Iran includes a waiver allowing some sanctioned oil sales to proceed, but the country continues to operate under an extensive and complicated set of international restrictions on its trade and activities.

For decades, Iran has faced sanctions, trade embargoes, and asset freezes imposed by the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and other nations. These measures were put in place over concerns about Iran’s nuclear program, its human rights record, and its backing of various groups throughout the region.

Iran is now looking to secure additional relief from those restrictions through ongoing negotiations over its nuclear program, as the next stage of the interim agreement takes shape.

Here is a breakdown of the key sanctions currently in place against Iran, which range from sweeping trade prohibitions to targeted measures against specific individuals and organizations.

UNITED NATIONS SANCTIONS

The U.N.’s sanctions against Iran are directly connected to its nuclear program and alleged failures to meet its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The U.N. Security Council passed resolutions imposing sanctions in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010. Those measures included an arms embargo, restrictions on the supply of certain nuclear-related materials and technology, and asset freezes targeting specific companies and individuals.

The resolutions also prohibited Iran from conducting any activities related to developing ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

While the funds and assets of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s state-owned shipping company were frozen, the resolutions did not block Iranian oil exports.

Following the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — commonly known as the JCPOA — the Security Council established a timeline for lifting its sanctions against Iran. However, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018, and Iran subsequently stopped honoring some of its commitments under the deal. The U.N. sanctions were then reinstated through what is known as a “snapback” mechanism last year.

UNITED STATES SANCTIONS

The United States first imposed sanctions on Iran in 1979, after revolutionary students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took diplomats hostage. Many additional layers of sanctions have been added over the years, targeting Iran’s support for groups the U.S. considers terrorist organizations, as well as its nuclear activities.

A major complicating factor is that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — the most powerful single entity in Iran and deeply intertwined with its economy — has been designated by Washington as a terrorist organization.

The U.S. Treasury Department administers the sanctions, but because they were enacted through different legal authorities and mechanisms, there is no simple or swift way to remove all of them at once.

The legal authority to impose sanctions stems from two laws passed in the 1970s that give presidents emergency powers requiring annual renewal, as well as from legislation passed in 1996 and 2017 that specifically targets Iran and certain other countries.

Sanctions that the president put in place through executive orders can be reversed by Trump with a single signature. Those include freezes on billions of dollars in Iranian assets, an arms embargo, a prohibition on all trade with or investment in Iran, and a ban on purchasing Iranian oil.

More difficult to undo are the sanctions enacted by Congress, which did not include exceptions or waivers tied to Iran’s behavior regarding human rights or its support for groups Washington considers terrorist organizations.

Numerous companies, individuals, and government entities have been specifically designated under these sanctions, and removing each designation could be a lengthy process.

EUROPEAN UNION SANCTIONS

In 2012, the EU imposed embargoes on Iranian oil exports, froze assets held by Iran’s Central Bank, and halted trade in precious metals and petrochemicals with Iran.

The bloc also placed restrictions on foreign trade, financial services, and the energy and technology sectors.

That same year, some Iranian banks were cut off from the SWIFT international payments system under EU directives, effectively severing large portions of Iran’s financial network from the rest of the world.

While certain sanctions were lifted under the JCPOA, they were later reinstated. Additional sanctions have since been aimed at specific individuals and particular components used in missiles and drones.

The EU has also sanctioned the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and imposed new measures this year in response to Iran’s blocking of the Strait of Hormuz.

WHERE ARE IRAN’S FROZEN ASSETS?

Iran has tens of billions of dollars sitting in foreign banks — money earned primarily from oil and gas exports — that it is unable to access due to the various sanctions targeting its banking and energy sectors.

Countries where Iran has had billions of dollars from oil sales locked in inaccessible bank accounts include South Korea, China, Japan, Luxembourg, and Iraq.

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s lawmakers cast votes Thursday in favor of constitutional changes that would delay upcoming elections and stretch the current president’s time in office from five years to seven.

The move shines a light on a striking reality across Africa: some of the planet’s oldest leaders govern a continent whose population is among the youngest in the world.

The country’s National Assembly passed the constitutional amendments by a wide margin. The changes would push elections originally scheduled for 2028 back to 2030, adding two years to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term. The bill must still clear the Senate, where passage is also widely anticipated.

Should the legislation become law, Mnangagwa would join the ranks of some of Africa’s oldest and longest-serving heads of state. He first took power in 2017 following a military-led removal of the late Robert Mugabe, who was 93 at the time and held the distinction of being the world’s oldest sitting head of state. The bill also proposes changing how the president is chosen — moving from a direct public vote to selection by members of parliament.

A recent analysis from the Pew Research Center found that 16 of the world’s 186 national leaders are older than U.S. President Donald Trump, who celebrated his 80th birthday last week. Seven of the ten oldest leaders on the global stage are from Africa — a continent where the median age is roughly 20 and more than 60% of residents are under 30, according to United Nations data.

Blessing Vava, a researcher focused on democracy and governance, put it plainly: “The population in Africa is getting younger, but the average age of presidents is rising, and tenures are getting longer.”

Vava, who also serves as director of the Johannesburg-based Southern Africa Coalition for Democracy and Accountability, added that Zimbabwe’s situation is far from unique. “Zimbabwe is not an exception. It’s the continental norm. Zimbabwe is just one data point in a much broader story of constitutional erosion for political survival.”

Cameroon’s Paul Biya, 93, holds the title of the world’s oldest sitting head of state. He has governed since 1982 — a year after Ronald Reagan took office in the United States — in a country where roughly 70% of the population is under 35. The U.S. has cycled through seven presidents in the time Biya has held power.

In neighboring Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has ruled for 47 years. At 84, he is Africa’s longest-serving leader and has gone so far as to name his own son as vice president.

Ivory Coast’s Alassane Ouattara, also 84, was sworn in for a fourth presidential term in December 2025 following an election that saw low voter participation and civil unrest.

Malawi returned Peter Mutharika, now 85, to the presidency last year. He previously served as the country’s leader from 2014 to 2020.

In Uganda, 81-year-old Yoweri Museveni — an American ally on regional security matters who has drawn criticism from opponents for authoritarian governance — took the oath of office for a seventh straight term in May, pushing his total time in power to four decades.

Mnangagwa, Museveni, Ouattara, Biya, and Obiang have each altered or done away with constitutional limits that were designed to restrict how long a leader could remain in office.

The Africa Center for Strategic Studies notes that leadership patterns across the continent’s 54 nations vary widely. Around 20 African countries actively maintain term limits, while others have eliminated or worked around them. Some nations are under military rule, with constitutional protections suspended entirely, allowing entrenched leaders to stay in power indefinitely.

That said, a younger generation of leaders has emerged in parts of the continent in recent years. Bassirou Diomaye Faye became one of Africa’s youngest elected leaders when he won Senegal’s 2024 presidential election at 44. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, 49, has held office since 2018. Some younger figures have come to power through military action — Mahamat Idriss Deby, 42, took control of Chad after his father was killed fighting rebels in 2021, then won a democratic election in 2024. In Burkina Faso, army captain Ibrahim Traoré seized power in a 2022 coup and, at 38, is currently Africa’s youngest ruler. Military takeovers have also brought younger leaders to power in Mali and Guinea.

Despite these examples, analysts warn that much of the continent’s political landscape is still dominated by older elites, leaving younger generations with few pathways to democratic leadership.

Vava summed up the imbalance: “So you get 25-year-olds making up the majority of a country’s population, but 75-year-olds decide the candidate or rule. Youth are mobilized for votes and not for power.”

PARIS — What started as a lavish dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles turned into an unexpected diplomatic moment, as President Donald Trump chose the historic setting to sign an initial agreement with Iran.

Trump made the announcement in a casual, offhand manner Wednesday as he was wrapping up three days of high-level diplomatic talks at a G7 summit in France. As he climbed into his vehicle to depart the country, he told reporters simply: “We signed in Versailles.”

Video footage shared on X by both Macron and a White House aide captured the moment — Trump seated at the dinner table, signing a printed copy of the agreement. He then passed the document and pen to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Macron, seated beside Trump, offered his congratulations: “Good job. Bravo.” Those in attendance responded with applause.

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure, who was among the dinner guests, said Thursday that the signing caught him completely off guard. The original plan had called for a formal signing ceremony to take place Friday in Switzerland.

Lescure recalled watching Rubio slip away from the table — apparently to retrieve or print the memorandum of agreement — and then return to complete the signing. “We cleared the plates,” Lescure said, describing how the dinner setting was quickly adapted for the occasion.

When asked whether Macron had prior knowledge of the signing, Lescure suggested the French president may have been told shortly before it happened, noting that Trump and Macron arrived at the dinner together. “In any case, for us, ministers of the French government, it was a surprise,” he said.

A French official, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said Rubio and French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot reviewed the memorandum of understanding together before presenting it to Trump for his signature.

WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance announced Thursday that the U.S. Navy has cleared a path for more than a dozen ships to reach Iranian ports, effectively ending a naval blockade as part of a newly reached agreement to bring the war to a close.

Speaking at a White House press briefing, Vance said oil is once again flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. He noted that more than 12.5 million barrels passed through that critical shipping channel on Wednesday night alone.

“So we’re also honoring our end of the early part of the agreement on the military side,” Vance said, calling it an early and tangible benefit of the deal. He pushed back against critics who argue the agreement favors Iran.

Vance also revealed plans to travel to Switzerland for follow-up discussions on the Iran deal, though he was uncertain about the exact timing. He had previously been expected to lead negotiations focused on reducing Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and restoring oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, two oil tankers departed Iran and crossed through the U.S. military blockade without being intercepted. A merchant shipping tracking service reported the vessels were carrying a combined 3.8 million barrels of Iranian crude oil.

Iranian state media described shipping at the country’s southern ports as having returned to normal, though officials noted the Strait of Hormuz remains under the supervision and control of the Iranian military, with transit through the waterway still requiring coordination.

Maritime data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence reported that major shipowners have begun routing vessels through the strait since the agreement was signed. Richard Meade, editor in chief of Lloyd’s List, said during a media briefing that for the first time in 110 days, ships belonging to major companies are moving through the strait after being effectively stranded there since February.

Among the companies with vessels now transiting the strait are Grimaldi Group, Cosco, Knutsen, and NYK. Lloyd’s List also reported that two crude oil tankers flagged under Iran and owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company — both under sanctions — have entered the strait.

However, Phillip Belcher, marine director of Intertanko, a trade organization representing independent tanker owners worldwide, cautioned that the main central route through the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, with an estimated 80 mines still needing to be cleared. Ships have instead been using a smaller Northern route through Iranian waters and a Southern route through Omani waters.

The agreement calls for a permanent halt to hostilities and opens a 60-day negotiating period to finalize a deal on Iran’s nuclear future, though the door has been left open to resume military action. Critics say the deal appears to hand Iran several early concessions while requiring little in return at this stage.

Under the terms, Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile — believed to be buried under rubble — must at minimum be diluted under international oversight. Iran also commits to not acquiring or developing nuclear weapons, a pledge it has made before. Beyond those points, the specifics of the nuclear program’s future remain to be negotiated.

Much of the agreement is aimed at restoring conditions that existed before the war, including a ceasefire, renewed diplomatic talks over Iran’s nuclear activities, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz — a vital passage for global oil and natural gas supplies whose closure triggered a significant worldwide energy crisis.

LIMA — Right-wing presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori appears poised to claim victory in Peru’s presidential race by a narrow but expanding margin, with just 0.6% of ballots still awaiting review as of Thursday. Her leftist opponent, Roberto Sanchez, responded by alleging irregularities at the electoral authority and calling on supporters to take to the streets in protest.

Fujimori, running for the presidency for the fourth time, currently holds a lead of 39,115 votes — a gap that has kept the South American nation in suspense since the June 7 runoff election.

As of Thursday morning, roughly 140,000 votes tied to challenged ballots remained under review. Approximately 60% of those contested votes originated from Lima and from Peruvians casting ballots from abroad — regions where Fujimori has historically performed stronger than Sanchez.

Gonzalo Marquez, who leads data consultancy Caleidos, said the remaining votes are unlikely to shift the outcome. “These are areas where Keiko Fujimori should have an advantage,” he said. “So there is no possibility, let’s say, that the result will change.”

The most recent figures from Peru’s elections office show Fujimori, the daughter of the late former President Alberto Fujimori, holding 50.11% of valid votes, compared to 49.89% for Sanchez, with 99.38% of ballots tallied.

If she prevails, Fujimori would make history as the first woman elected directly to Peru’s presidency. She has lost three previous runoffs, including a 2021 defeat at the hands of leftist Pedro Castillo by a margin of just 44,200 votes.

While the painstaking review of disputed ballots continued, Sanchez’s party submitted legal appeals aimed at invalidating votes counted in Fujimori’s favor and announced plans for demonstrations in Lima on Friday.

Election monitoring missions from both the Organization of American States and the European Union independently concluded that the voting process had unfolded normally. Both organizations called on the candidates and the Peruvian public to wait for the final official results before drawing conclusions.

LONDON (AP) — A former U.K. border official and a retired Hong Kong police officer were handed prison sentences Thursday for carrying out espionage operations targeting dissidents and critics of Beijing who were living in Britain.

Prosecutors said Peter Wai, a Border Force officer, and Bill Yuen, a former superintendent with the Hong Kong Police, disguised themselves as law enforcement or intelligence personnel to surveil and collect information on Hong Kong dissidents and supporters of the pro-democracy movement.

Among those targeted was former Hong Kong lawmaker Nathan Law, as well as activists the pair referred to as “cockroaches” and British politicians who had spoken out against China, according to prosecutors.

Last month, a jury found both men — who hold Chinese-British citizenship — guilty of violating the National Security Act by aiding a foreign intelligence service. Wai faced an additional conviction of misconduct in a public office after investigators found he had used a government computer to look up individuals who were of interest to Hong Kong authorities.

At London’s Central Criminal Court, Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb sentenced Wai, 41, to 10 years behind bars and handed Yuen, 66, an eight-year prison term.

The judge described the pair’s actions as “deliberate, concerted, and serious,” noting that their conduct left the people they targeted living in fear and distress.

Before joining the U.K. Border Force, Wai had served as an officer with London’s Metropolitan Police. Yuen held the position of office manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, which serves as the official overseas representative of Hong Kong’s government.

Helen Flanagan, commander for Counter Terrorism Policing London, described the conduct as deeply alarming. “The activity of Wai and Yuen was truly chilling,” she said.

“They were spying and targeting individuals in the U.K. who were pro-democracy campaigners and were simply protesting against the Hong Kong and Chinese government and authorities and seeking sanctuary in the U.K.,” Flanagan added.

Following last month’s convictions, Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang was called in to the British Foreign Office. China’s Embassy in the U.K. responded by calling the case a political farce designed to support anti-China individuals who had fled to Britain.

The Hong Kong government, meanwhile, maintained that the allegations “are absolutely unrelated” to the government or the Economic and Trade Office, and accused British authorities of building the case on baseless accusations and manipulating legal proceedings to secure a guilty verdict.

A major oil refinery in Moscow owned by Gazpromneft has been hit by a second drone attack in less than a week, with industry sources reporting that multiple processing units were damaged and several fires broke out across the facility.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced Thursday via Telegram that the region had been targeted in what he described as a large-scale drone raid, with several of the unmanned aircraft striking the refinery. The same plant had already come under attack on June 16, which forced it to shut down operations.

According to industry sources, Thursday’s strike caused damage to the Euro+ combined oil refining unit, a facility that was brought online in 2020 as part of the refinery’s modernization effort. That unit includes a crude distillation section capable of processing roughly 140,000 barrels of oil per day — accounting for about 47% of the refinery’s total capacity — along with a catalytic reformer and a diesel hydrotreating unit.

Beyond the Euro+ unit, sources indicated that secondary processing units, pipelines connecting different parts of the plant, and other auxiliary equipment were also damaged. Storage tanks holding refined oil products were struck and caught fire.

Gazpromneft, the company that owns and operates the refinery, had not responded to a request for comment at the time of reporting.

The June 16 attack had already dealt a significant blow to the facility. During that earlier strike, one of the refinery’s two main crude distillation units — known as CDU-6, with a normal processing capacity of around 160,000 barrels per day, or 53% of the plant’s total output — was damaged and caught fire.

Sources said the refinery had been planning to bring the Euro+ unit back online midweek and operate at roughly half capacity while repairs were carried out on CDU-6. Thursday’s attack disrupted those plans.

The refinery sits in the southeastern section of Moscow and plays an important role in supplying fuel to the Russian capital. According to sources, the facility processed 11.6 million metric tons of crude oil in 2024 — equivalent to approximately 230,000 barrels per day — and produced 2.9 million tons of gasoline, 3.2 million tons of diesel, and 1.3 million tons of bitumen during that period.

HARARE — Zimbabwe’s lower house of parliament gave its approval Thursday to a bill that would lengthen presidential terms from five years to seven, a move that could keep President Emmerson Mnangagwa in power until 2030.

The legislation cleared the chamber with 216 votes in favor, surpassing the 187-vote threshold required for a two-thirds majority.

The bill now advances to the upper house of parliament, where it is widely expected to pass as well. Mnangagwa’s ruling ZANU-PF party maintains control of that chamber through traditional leaders and allied proxies who typically vote in line with the party.

Indications that Mnangagwa, who is 83 years old, was looking to remain in office beyond the conclusion of his second term in 2028 surfaced roughly two years ago. Supporters began chanting at ZANU-PF rallies that he needed additional time to finish his agenda. The party formally resolved last year to amend the constitution to extend presidential terms, and the proposal received cabinet approval in February.

Opponents of the bill argue it is simply a mechanism for Mnangagwa to cling to power longer than the current constitution allows. Supporters, however, contend the change will improve accountability and promote political stability.

Mnangagwa carries the nickname “the crocodile,” a creature depicted in Zimbabwean tradition as both cunning and merciless. He rose to the presidency following a military coup in 2017 that removed longtime ruler Robert Mugabe, who had governed the country since it gained independence in 1980. Prior to their falling out in the months before the coup, Mnangagwa had been among Mugabe’s closest allies, holding senior government roles including the position of vice president.

Legal challenges to the term extension were filed by some activists and veterans of Zimbabwe’s liberation war, but those cases were dismissed from the court roll earlier this week due to technical procedural issues.

Zimbabwe is not alone in this trend. Other African nations, including Cameroon and Uganda, have seen their leaders alter laws to extend their time in office — a pattern that has taken hold across a continent where some of the world’s oldest heads of state govern populations that skew among the youngest on Earth.

BOGOTA — A lawyer and businessman who had never held political office before last year has quickly become the leading candidate to become Colombia’s next president, riding a wave of support for his tough stance on crime, smaller government, and a return to oil exploration.

Abelardo De La Espriella, known among his supporters as “The Tiger,” has positioned himself as an outsider who can fix Colombia’s struggling economy and bring order to a nation troubled by illegal armed groups and drug trafficking.

“I will dare to do what needs to be done within the framework of the Constitution and the law to save and rebuild Colombia,” De La Espriella told Reuters in a February interview. “It requires character, passion, courage, and determination, and I am the tiger for that.”

De La Espriella built momentum throughout the early part of the year with his hardline rhetoric, winning the first round of voting in late May with 43.7% of the vote. He has led every major poll ahead of Sunday’s runoff election against leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda.

The two candidates represent sharply different visions for the country’s future. Cepeda has pledged to continue and expand the economic and social reforms of current leftist President Gustavo Petro, while also pursuing peace negotiations with armed groups that have waged conflict against the Colombian state for decades.

De La Espriella holds Petro responsible for Colombia’s economic troubles and security problems. He has promised to shrink the size of the government by 40%, expand the tax base, and lower corporate taxes in order to stimulate private-sector job creation.

He also wants to resume oil exploration and permit fracking, with the goal of nearly doubling oil output to 1.3 million barrels per day.

“Colombia is going through its darkest hours,” De La Espriella said to Reuters. “At the end of the day, it’s not a battle between (Petro’s) heir apparent Ivan Cepeda and me, it’s a battle between totalitarianism and democracy, between the past and the future, between statism and economic freedom.”

De La Espriella’s business interests span a wide range of industries, including wine, rum, clothing, and real estate. However, an investigation by the Colombian journalism outlet La Silla Vacia found that many of those businesses have been dissolved, carry debt, and lost money in 2024, with his law practice being his most financially successful venture.

The candidate says he is funding his campaign and his “Defenders of the Homeland” movement entirely on his own, without backing from political parties or business interests. Reuters was unable to independently confirm that claim.

De La Espriella, who is 47 years old, frequently uses a military-style salute at campaign events and in advertisements, despite having no military service record. He is often seen wearing luxury watches and designer sunglasses and sporting a carefully maintained beard — an image that has drawn comparisons to El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who has famously called himself the “world’s coolest dictator.”

Bukele’s government implemented strict security crackdowns and built large-scale detention facilities, driving El Salvador’s crime rates to some of the lowest in Central America. More than 90,000 people have been detained under his policies, drawing sharp criticism from human rights organizations.

De La Espriella has denied he is copying Bukele’s approach, but he has proposed building 10 large-scale prisons in Colombia.

“In my government there will be no peace processes. Any bandit who does not surrender will be killed, as is the law,” he stated. “And if they do surrender, they will have to be imprisoned in a real jail.”

The candidate has also faced scrutiny over his legal career, including his past representation of Alex Saab, who faces charges in the United States alleging he laundered money on behalf of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. De La Espriella has also represented clients connected to corruption cases, financial crimes, and right-wing paramilitary groups. He maintains that his work as an attorney does not make him complicit in any wrongdoing.

A married father of four, De La Espriella grew up in the Caribbean city of Monteria and is known as an enthusiastic performer of vallenato, the traditional folk music of that region.

BRUSSELS — For the first time in 16 years, European Union leaders gathered in Brussels for a summit without Hungarian politician Viktor Orbán in the room.

Over the years, prime ministers, chancellors, and presidents have come and gone, but Orbán remained a constant presence in Brussels’ corridors of power. He became known for steering Europe toward the political right and championing a form of nationalist populism that has gained traction across the continent and earned admiration from the Make America Great Again movement in the United States.

But after losing a critical election in April, Orbán — now Hungary’s top opposition figure — finds himself watching from the outside for the first time in a generation. His successor, Péter Magyar, is now seated alongside leaders such as Spain’s Pedro Sanchez, France’s Emmanuel Macron, and Germany’s Friedrich Merz, advancing policies that are likely to conflict with Orbán’s worldview.

While the EU summit opened with discussions on increasing support for Ukraine and other matters, Orbán was across town participating in a Thursday gathering of his Patriots for Europe party group — a coalition of far-right parties from across the bloc that makes up the third-largest caucus in the European Parliament.

Despite the stinging election defeat — which many EU leaders welcomed with relief and many observers interpreted as a rejection of his confrontational stance toward the EU and his close relationship with Russia — Orbán has not wavered in his conviction that far-right movements across Europe are approaching a major turning point.

At a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday, Orbán said his loss at the polls had not slowed “the rise of patriotic political organizations, communities, and parties across Europe.”

“No one election loss can stop this historical process,” he said. “Anti-migration and sovereigntist political forces in Europe will continue to grow stronger in the coming months and years.”

Orbán envisions Patriots for Europe as a vehicle to reshape the EU according to his priorities — reducing the bloc’s authority over rule of law and democracy, taking a hardline stance on immigration, and fostering closer ties with Russia and China.

He had long been the primary obstacle to Ukraine’s path toward EU membership. However, Hungary’s new government, led by Magyar and his center-right Tisza party, has committed to working more cooperatively with the EU. Last week, Hungary dropped its veto on launching Ukraine’s accession process, following weeks of negotiations with Kyiv over restoring minority rights for ethnic Hungarians living in western Ukraine.

“Hungary obviously had issues that they were able to resolve to allow this to happen this week,” said Thomas Byrne, Minister for European Affairs for Ireland, which is set to take over the rotating EU presidency in July for a six-month term. During that period, accession talks for Ukraine and Moldova, among others, are expected to move forward more rapidly.

Europe’s far-right parties have indeed notched some recent wins. France’s National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, made gains in municipal elections earlier this year, while Alternative for Germany, known as AfD, has been climbing in opinion polls. Orbán ally Andrej Babis, the populist leader of the Czech Republic, returned to the prime minister’s office last year and is currently the only Patriots for Europe member heading an EU-member nation.

The far right also helped push through a significant overhaul of the EU’s migration policy, made possible through an alliance with the center-right European People’s Party. Human rights organizations sharply criticized the changes, which expand the bloc’s surveillance capabilities, increase deportations of migrants, and establish detention facilities outside the EU known as “return hubs.” When the right-wing coalition passed the migration reform on Wednesday, far-right and center-right lawmakers erupted in cheers inside the European Parliament chamber in Strasbourg, France.

“Send them back,” they chanted.

Still, cracks have begun to show within Europe’s far-right coalition, driven by disagreements over the United States and Israel’s war in Iran and U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland, a territory belonging to EU member Denmark.

And with Orbán no longer able to veto EU decisions — a strategy that had increasingly come to define his role at bloc summits — Ukraine’s biggest hurdle to beginning its EU membership process has been cleared.

BEIJING — China has formally named Cai Qi, the nation’s fifth-highest-ranking official, as the new leader of the Communist Party’s premier ideology and training institution, further strengthening his role as one of President Xi Jinping’s most trusted inner circle members.

Cai joined the party’s seven-member Politburo Standing Committee — the highest level of political authority in China, led by Xi — back in 2022. He also serves as director of the party’s General Office, a role that effectively makes him Xi’s chief of staff.

The appointment carries significant historical weight. Both of China’s two most recent top leaders, Xi and Hu Jintao, previously led the prestigious Central Party School before rising to the country’s top position.

At 70 years old, Cai now brings together the party’s organizational structure, ideological direction, and administrative operations under one Standing Committee member — a concentration of influence that is considered rare within China’s political system.

The human resources ministry announced Thursday that Cai has replaced Chen Xi, 72, as president of the National Academy of Governance. Founded in 1994, the academy has been jointly run with the Central Party School since 2018 as a single institution under party leadership. Its primary responsibilities include training senior Chinese government officials and guiding party ideology.

Thursday’s formal announcement came after state media reported earlier this month that Cai had already attended a spring semester graduation ceremony at the school and academy in his capacity as president.

Cai’s relationship with Xi goes back many years, rooted in overlapping careers in China’s Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. In 2017, as Xi began his second term leading the Communist Party, Cai was elevated to the then 25-member Politburo, the party’s second-highest decision-making body.

TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — Adnan Kaour made his way back to the coastal city of Tyre in southern Lebanon on Thursday, just one week after Israel ordered all residents to leave. Once celebrated as a beloved summer destination, the city now bears the scars of heavy bombardment.

Israel had followed those evacuation warnings with widespread airstrikes, which it said were aimed at the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

What Kaour discovered upon his return was devastating. The family apartment he cherished — with its view of the Mediterranean Sea — had been reduced to a pile of rubble and broken glass.

His visit home came the same day the United States and Iran announced a deal aimed at ending the broader Middle East conflict. The agreement also includes provisions calling for an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, though what that means on the ground remains uncertain.

Notably, neither Israel nor Hezbollah are parties to the agreement. Iran is demanding that Israel pull back from the large portion of southern Lebanon it currently occupies, but the interim deal’s language does not explicitly require that — it only guarantees Lebanon’s “territorial integrity.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not yet responded publicly to the deal’s signing. Israel has pledged to maintain its military presence in Lebanon, while Hezbollah has declared its continued commitment to resisting Israeli forces. Clashes between the two sides were still being reported as recently as Wednesday in towns and villages across southern Lebanon, raising doubts about whether the deal will hold.

For the people of southern Lebanon, already worn down by years of crisis, cautious optimism is tempered by deep skepticism — too many ceasefire announcements have come and gone without stopping the violence.

Kaour, who lives in Germany but typically spends summers in Tyre, was abroad with his family when an Israeli strike hit their street without warning last month. When he returned Thursday, he found his building was still standing — a sweets shop and an electronics store occupy the ground floor — while the structures around it had been completely leveled.

Inside his apartment, however, the walls had been blown out and the windows shattered. He said he felt relief knowing his family had not been there. They all made it out safely.

“I’m hopeful for peace, and God willing this is the end of the war, and everyone can go back to their homes,” he said. “We are living abroad, but our minds are here in our country.”

Outside, neighbors quickly gathered to begin clearing away the debris.

One floor above Kaour’s apartment, his neighbor Samih Haidar had also just returned to find his door sealed shut with wooden boards. He tried kicking them down but couldn’t break through. He waited anxiously until two men working nearby came and unscrewed the bolts.

Haidar squeezed through the opening and stepped inside. He had rented the apartment to a family displaced from another part of the south — people connected to a trusted friend — and had no idea what to expect.

What he found stopped him cold: broken furniture, shattered glass, debris everywhere, and a burned-out kitchen. Neighbors told him the kitchen caught fire after a nearby strike. He walked slowly through each room, quietly recording the damage on his phone. He has no idea where the family went — like so many others, he assumes they fled Tyre.

Still, he said he wants to hold onto hope.

“We want things to work out and live in safety, so there can be stability for us and everyone else,” Haidar said.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported multiple Israeli drone strikes Thursday morning in the country’s south, including one that struck a vehicle in the town of Kfar Tebnit, killing one person and critically injuring another. Israel declined to comment on the strikes.

About 80 kilometers — roughly 50 miles — to the north, displaced families were camped along the waterfront in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital. Many have been living in tents for months, surviving day to day with no clear path forward. Others sleep on benches or mattresses laid out on the ground.

Many of those displaced say they have little confidence the US-Iran deal will last or that they will have anything to return to. In border communities near Israel, entire Lebanese villages have been nearly wiped out.

“I haven’t felt relieved at all,” said Mohammed Ashmar, who was displaced from the border village of Deir Seryan. Sitting near his tent with a cup of coffee in hand, he added: “Until I get back to my home … I won’t be convinced of anything.”

According to Lebanese officials, the war between Israel and Hezbollah has displaced more than one million people and claimed nearly 3,900 lives. Netanyahu’s office reports that approximately 30 Israeli soldiers and one defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, while two civilians have died in northern Israel.

Lebanon’s Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed, speaking Thursday during a visit by foreign dignitaries, said the country faces both immediate humanitarian needs and the enormous challenge of planning for the return of displaced families and the rebuilding of devastated communities.

“The Lebanese people deserve peace,” she said. “They deserve to return safely to their homes, rebuild their communities, and look to the future with confidence and hope.”

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has made tentative diplomatic contact with Moscow, hoping to establish a line of communication that would prevent Europe from being shut out of any future negotiations to end Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, officials confirmed Thursday.

The disclosure came on the same day Russian officials reported that Ukraine had carried out one of its most significant drone attacks since Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than four years ago. A major oil refinery near Moscow was struck for the second time in a single week, and commercial air traffic at Moscow-area airports was thrown into disarray.

Even as the fighting continues, the EU has been working behind the scenes to restore a diplomatic connection with Moscow while simultaneously maintaining its firm backing of Kyiv. Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his part, has been attempting to bypass both Europe and Ukraine entirely, pushing to negotiate Ukraine’s future directly with Washington.

“In the past few weeks, brief contacts were made at diplomatic level to open communication channels but nothing was discussed on substance,” said an EU official familiar with the effort, who spoke anonymously given the sensitivity of the matter. A second official, also speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly, confirmed the outreach to Russia is underway but would not elaborate.

The first official went on to explain the reasoning: “In any future scenario, the EU has specific interests that will need to be defended, therefore it is important to have established diplomatic channels with Russia. The EU is not a mediator. It supports Ukraine in its efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace.”

The Kremlin had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication. Putin has consistently argued that Europe has no role to play in resolving the conflict, though he has stopped short of saying he would refuse to speak with EU representatives altogether.

“We have never refused contacts with representatives of the European Union in any format,” Putin said earlier this month. “We are not rejecting contacts. If they want to talk, they know how to reach us. They can pick up the phone and call. If they want to come, they are welcome to do so. It is not Russia that is refusing engagement.”

Officials said European Council President Antonio Costa “has been coordinating closely with European leaders on possible engagement with Russia and the issues to be discussed when the right moment comes.”

The news broke just as EU leaders were arriving in Brussels for their summer summit, with Ukraine expected to dominate the discussions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to speak before the bloc’s 27 member-state leaders, who are working to deepen their relationship with Kyiv.

Earlier this week, Ukraine formally began the process of applying for EU membership, a milestone that will require years of political reform even as the country continues to fight off the Russian invasion.

The developments also follow a gathering of the world’s seven major industrialized nations held this week in the French town of Evian-Les-Bains, where European leaders succeeded in getting Trump to join fellow G7 leaders in pledging “unwavering support for Ukraine.”

Zelenskyy said Ukraine secured important commitments of continued support from world leaders at the G7 summit in France, including from the United States.

WARSAW — Poland’s Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced Thursday that the United States is receptive to the idea of establishing a permanent American military base in Poland.

The Polish minister made the statement following a face-to-face meeting with U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in Brussels, describing the U.S. Department of War as open to Poland’s proposal.

However, Kosiniak-Kamysz noted that no formal decision has been made at this point.

Polish authorities announced Thursday that they have arrested a man suspected of carrying out the fatal shooting of a Russian activist who had been a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin.

The suspect, a 36-year-old man traveling on a passport from the former Soviet republic of Georgia, was identified by Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński during a press conference held in Warsaw.

The victim, Robert Kuzovkov — who went by the pseudonym Semyon Skrepetsky — was shot at close range on Monday in the eastern Polish city of Biala Podlaska, located near the border with Belarus. The shooting occurred in the middle of the day, close to where Kuzovkov lived.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed the incident Wednesday, stating that the circumstances surrounding the death point strongly toward a deliberate political killing.

“Everything points to this being a political murder,” Tusk said. “But we must wait for evidence or more concrete indications. Because if that was the case — if it was ordered by Russia — then it is an extremely serious matter internationally. It would constitute state terrorism.”

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday praised his country’s relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as he hosted a gathering in Kazan designed to deepen economic and political cooperation with the regional bloc.

Leaders attending the Kazan summit agreed to further build upon the “strategic partnership” between Russia and ASEAN member nations, which include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam.

“It is a strategic partnership that serves as an essential stabilizing factor in the Asia-Pacific amidst geopolitical turbulence, contributing to the formation of a balanced security architecture and equitable mutually beneficial cooperation,” Putin said during the summit, which celebrated the 35th anniversary of Russia-ASEAN relations.

The summit’s agenda covered an exchange of views on global and regional matters, a review of progress in Russia-ASEAN relations, and discussions about future areas of cooperation.

Putin pointed out that Russia and ASEAN have “expanded the scope of practical cooperation in such areas as combating new security challenges and threats, as well as trade and investment, energy, agriculture, digitalization, science and technology, tourism, and humanitarian contacts.”

A declaration signed by summit participants reaffirmed a shared commitment to a “just multipolar world as guided by international law and the principles of the U.N. Charter to promote mutual benefit and respect for all states.”

The leaders described the Kazan summit as a “significant milestone” in Russia-ASEAN relations and pledged to maintain high-level contact between Russia and the bloc in order to advance their “strategic partnership.”

In addition to the main summit sessions, Putin held one-on-one meetings with several ASEAN leaders. The summit was co-chaired by Putin and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., whose nation currently holds the association’s rotating presidency.

ASEAN’s membership is diverse in its global alignments — some countries, including the Philippines, are considered close to the United States, while others maintain strong trade and security relationships with China and Russia.

Several ASEAN members, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, have either purchased Russian crude oil or signaled interest in doing so after global fuel prices surged in the aftermath of the war in Iran.

BOGOTA — Colombian senator Ivan Cepeda, a 63-year-old leftist activist whose early life was defined by political exile and the murder of his father, is making a bid for the country’s presidency, pledging to build on and expand the progressive reforms of his predecessor.

Cepeda held the lead in surveys heading into the first-round vote in late May, but ultimately came in second place behind right-wing candidate Abelardo De La Espriella, who is now considered the frontrunner heading into Sunday’s deciding vote.

The two candidates offer dramatically different paths for Colombia. Cepeda has pledged to continue and intensify the economic and social agenda of President Gustavo Petro — the nation’s first leftist president and a former guerrilla. De La Espriella, meanwhile, has promised a tougher stance on crime and fewer restrictions on business and industry.

Investors, conservative voters, and the business sector have largely aligned with De La Espriella. Cepeda has drawn support from coastal and Amazonian regions, the traditional political left, and voters in Bogota. He argues that the country’s entrenched inequality demands what he describes as “social capitalism” — a framework centered on poverty reduction.

Among his policy proposals: higher taxes on Colombia’s wealthiest citizens, opening state contracts to community organizations, distributing 1 million hectares of land to victims of the country’s armed conflict, and expanding financial support for low-income individuals and the elderly.

“It is a program that proposes social reforms that I want not only to be deepened and consolidated, but also to be radicalized in some cases,” Cepeda told Reuters in an interview last week.

Cepeda served as a facilitator in negotiations that produced a 2016 peace deal between the Colombian government and the former FARC guerrilla organization. He has vowed to press forward with Petro’s contentious efforts to broker peace with other illegal armed groups that have been in conflict with the state for decades.

Following the first round, Cepeda has moderated certain positions, expressing a desire for broader political consensus on reforms and stepping back from earlier plans to pursue a new national constitution.

“I am a democrat, I am going to run a government strictly adhering to the Constitution and the law,” he said.

Cepeda’s academic background spans philosophy, law, and political science, studied across Bulgaria, France, and Colombia. He rose to greater national prominence after former President Alvaro Uribe was sentenced to 12 years of house arrest on fraud and bribery charges — a case in which Cepeda was recognized as one of several victims.

Cepeda has been connected to left-wing politics since childhood. Both of his parents were communist leaders, and the family endured two separate periods of political exile — first in Havana and later in the former Czechoslovakia.

His father, Manuel Cepeda, was shot and killed in 1994 while traveling by car in Bogota. The younger Cepeda has recounted that he was riding a bus to university when he spotted his father’s body at what he initially assumed was a traffic accident. In 2010, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the Colombian state bore responsibility for Manuel Cepeda’s killing, which was carried out by military and paramilitary forces.

Cepeda is married to Pilar Rueda, who recently stepped down from her role as an advisor to the special tribunal established to investigate and prosecute human rights abuses connected to Colombia’s ongoing internal conflict.

His political opponents have alleged that he maintains close connections to former FARC leadership — accusations he has firmly denied.

The most recent polling shows Cepeda trailing with 44.8% support compared to De La Espriella’s 52.6% ahead of Sunday’s runoff.

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into how Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei built a global investment portfolio that reportedly has ties to major Wall Street financial institutions, according to a Bloomberg News report published Thursday citing officials with knowledge of the matter.

The investigation is part of a wider inquiry into alleged money laundering and corruption. Authorities are also examining financial transactions connected to companies under Khamenei’s oversight, the report indicated.

Federal investigators are looking closely at the involvement of American banks in those transactions. Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the probe, identified JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup as two of the financial institutions being scrutinized.

When contacted for comment, JPMorgan and the Department of Justice did not provide a response to media inquiries. Citigroup chose not to comment on the matter.

Bloomberg News noted that the existence of an investigation does not automatically mean criminal charges will be brought against anyone. The report emphasized that Khamenei himself remains the central focus of the probe.

Khamenei rose to become Iran’s supreme leader following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike. As supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei holds ultimate authority over the country’s most critical decisions, including its foreign policy direction and nuclear program.

European Union leaders convened in Brussels on Thursday to discuss potential new and stronger steps to address the bloc’s rapidly growing trade imbalance with China, as well as the EU’s deep dependence on the world’s second-largest economy for rare earth minerals and other essential supplies.

EU diplomats indicate that all 27 member nations are increasingly aligned in recognizing the severity of the trade deficit problem with China, which has now reached roughly €1 billion — about $1.15 billion — every single day. The concern is heightened by the fact that U.S. tariffs have already reduced European access to the American market.

One EU diplomat captured the urgency of the moment bluntly: “We live in a world of wolves now. We no longer live in a world of pink ponies and rainbows.”

The numbers underscore the concern. China’s goods trade surplus with the EU reached €360.6 billion in 2025, a 15% jump compared to 2024. That gap has continued widening, growing another 10% in just the first four months of this year, as Chinese companies have ramped up exports to Europe while buying less from it.

Adding to the tension, Beijing moved in April 2025 to restrict exports of rare earth minerals — a sector where China holds dominant processing power — as a countermove to tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Those restrictions have also dealt a blow to European companies.

EU UNITY ON THE PROBLEM, BUT NOT THE SOLUTION

The European Union has taken steps to reduce its trade dependency, striking new mineral partnership agreements and free trade deals with Australia, India, and Indonesia over the past year. But diplomats say leaders at this week’s summit are expected to call for even more action.

Leaders are anticipated to direct the European Commission — the body that manages the EU’s trade policy — to engage in dialogue with China while simultaneously strengthening European trade defenses.

However, agreement on the specific approach remains elusive. France is pushing for a harder stance against China, while Germany, the EU’s largest exporter, and Spain, which has become an increasingly popular destination for Chinese investment, are urging more caution.

“There is a certain convergence of views and a shared analysis, but nuances come in when it comes to how to respond to this,” a second diplomat explained. “We need to get it right, because otherwise we are stuck with our industry being stuck with the second-largest economy in the world.”

The divisions became public last month when France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Lithuania jointly released a paper calling on the EU to consider a new mechanism to reduce over-dependence on any single foreign country, potentially including additional duties or quotas to shield domestic producers. Spain had originally been listed as a co-signer of that document but later publicly withdrew its support.

The EU has already been directing its trade enforcement tools heavily toward China. Of 21 newly launched anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations, 18 are aimed at Chinese producers. Since 2024, the bloc has also levied extra tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China — a move that prompted Beijing to retaliate with measures targeting European dairy products and brandy.

Critics argue the EU must accelerate its investigations and set clearer priorities rather than processing cases purely in the order they are received. They also contend that current cases are too limited in scope and that Chinese manufacturers frequently find ways to work around the tariffs.

The European Commission acknowledged that Chinese electric vehicle imports did decline after the tariffs took effect, but noted that Chinese producers responded by increasing shipments of hybrid vehicles instead. EV imports have also begun climbing again in the first quarter of this year.

The Commission is scheduled to carry out a sweeping review of its trade defense tools in the third quarter of this year. Among the options being considered are new measures to address manufacturing overcapacity and excessive reliance on single suppliers — with China specifically in mind. In sensitive industries, EU companies could potentially be required to maintain at least three separate supply sources.

Armed attackers struck the primary airport in Niamey, Niger’s capital, in the early hours of Thursday morning, setting off an exchange of gunfire and explosions, according to witnesses and a security official familiar with the situation.

After the gunmen broke through the airport’s security perimeter, military and security forces were dispatched to push them back, said the official, who was not authorized to speak on the record about the incident. Who carried out the attack remained unclear in the immediate aftermath.

A journalist with the Associated Press on the scene reported that soldiers were stopping and searching people along the road leading to the airport following the shooting.

This marks the second assault on Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey this year. In January, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a comparable attack that specifically targeted Niger’s drone military assets.

Niger has been governed by a military junta since a coup in 2023 and has faced ongoing difficulties in curbing deadly extremist violence sweeping through Africa’s Sahel region. Neighboring countries Burkina Faso and Mali, also under military rule, have faced similar threats.

The airport holds significant strategic importance, serving as the home of a Nigerien air force base and the headquarters of a joint military force involving Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali.

Despite increased security measures put in place after the January attack, analysts warn that jihadist groups in Niger and throughout the broader region remain a serious and persistent danger.

Beverly Ochieng, a senior security analyst at Control Risks, explained the airport’s appeal as a target: “The symbolism of the airport as headquarters for AES will drive intent by militants to target it,” referring to the regional Alliance of Sahel States.

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England opted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.75% on Thursday, as inflation pressures facing the British economy have begun to ease following an agreement between the United States and Iran to bring their conflict to an end.

The decision came as little surprise to observers after new data revealed that inflation in May did not climb as forecasted, instead remaining flat at 2.8%.

While that figure still exceeds the bank’s 2% target, it sparked optimism that the surge in oil and gas prices — which followed the outbreak of the Iran war on February 28 — may not have pushed inflation as high as many had feared.

Economic analysts believe the bank’s rate-setters will likely hold off on any rate increases in the months ahead, provided that the recent drop in energy costs continues.

Andrew Bailey, the bank’s governor, described the recent decline in oil prices as “encouraging,” though he acknowledged they remain elevated compared to pre-war levels.

“Whatever happens in the future, the higher energy prices of the past four months mean there’s already some inflationary pressure in the pipeline,” Bailey said. “The Bank’s job is to make sure that doesn’t turn into sustained inflation above our 2% target.”

Despite the decision to hold rates steady, the vote was not unanimous. Two of the nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee expressed enough concern about those lingering pipeline pressures that they cast votes in favor of a quarter-point rate increase.

Russian officials confirmed Thursday that Ukraine carried out one of its most significant drone offensives since Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than four years ago, striking a major oil refinery in Moscow for the second time in just seven days.

The assault took place just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he had completed what he described as “an important coordination call” with the presidents of the United States and France, and had secured key commitments of continued support from the G7 summit taking place that week.

Zelenskyy was also scheduled to travel to Brussels later Thursday to meet with NATO and European Union leaders. Among the topics on the agenda was the potential construction of a continent-wide defense system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles — the type of weapon Russia has repeatedly used against Ukraine and which current air defenses have difficulty stopping.

Striking Russian oil infrastructure has been a deliberate Ukrainian strategy, designed to drain Moscow’s war funding and bring the consequences of the conflict home to Russian citizens. Fuel shortages have already been reported in some areas.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha took to X to address Russian citizens directly, writing: “One of the most popular questions asked by Muscovites this morning is ‘What is going on?’ I can answer. Your country started a war of aggression against ours. For years, it has been killing our people. Now that you know what’s going on, ask Putin when he is planning to end it.”

Russian media released images and video showing enormous fires burning at the Moscow Oil Refinery, which sits roughly 15 kilometers — about 9 miles — from the Kremlin. Towering black clouds of smoke billowed across the city skyline.

According to the refinery’s official website, it ranks among Russia’s largest and supplies more than a third of the fuel used in the Moscow region. Ukrainian drones had already targeted the facility on Tuesday, sparking a fire that officials said was quickly extinguished.

Aviation and transportation authorities reported that flights at four Moscow-area airports were temporarily grounded as a result of the attack.

In the Moscow region — which surrounds but is separate from the capital — a drone struck a residential building in the town of Zhukovsky, prompting an evacuation, according to regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov. Vorobyov also reported that drone debris damaged other structures throughout the region, injuring 16 people, among them two children.

Russia’s Defense Ministry stated that overnight, its air defense systems intercepted 555 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions, with nearly 200 of those shot down as they approached Moscow. That figure was approximately double the number of drones Russia itself launched toward Ukraine during the same period, according to the Ukrainian air force.

The strike added to a string of embarrassments for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Earlier this month, a Ukrainian drone attack struck his hometown of St. Petersburg at the very moment he was hosting a high-profile economic forum attended by foreign dignitaries.

On Thursday, Putin was in Kazan, located about 700 kilometers — roughly 430 miles — east of Moscow, where he was hosting leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as Russia works to strengthen economic and political ties with member countries of that regional bloc.

Zelenskyy framed the Moscow attack as part of Ukraine’s broader effort to compel Putin to come to the negotiating table. The Ukrainian president has agreed to an unconditional ceasefire as called for by Trump, but Putin has declined, and U.S.-led peace initiatives have largely stalled.

“If Putin does not want to end this war and wants to continue it, we will not sit quietly — we will respond,” Zelenskyy said in a voice message sent to a journalists’ group chat.

Beyond diplomatic pledges made at the G7 summit, Western officials and analysts say Ukraine has recently gained ground against Russia’s larger military force, largely due to its advanced drone capabilities. Long-distance drone strikes are increasingly choking off Russian supply lines in occupied Ukrainian territories, while also disrupting oil production inside Russia.

French President Macron described the G7 gathering as “very important for Ukraine” because its allies — notably the United States — reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the country, though he offered no specific details. Under the current U.S. administration, American aid to Ukraine has been reduced, leaving European nations as the primary providers of military and financial support. The relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy has at times been tense.

“America is with us on Ukraine, that is very important,” Macron told reporters as he and Trump departed the Palace of Versailles near Paris.

BRASILIA — Brazilian Federal Police have reportedly targeted Senator Jaques Wagner, one of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s closest political allies and the government’s floor leader in the Senate, as part of a probe connected to lender Banco Master, according to two sources who spoke with Reuters on Thursday.

CNN Brasil was the first outlet to break the story, and two individuals with knowledge of the investigation later confirmed the details to Reuters. Representatives for Wagner had not yet issued any response to requests for comment at the time of the report.