World

Trump rebukes allies over Hormuz escorts as Iran strikes Gulf oil targets; oil prices rise Several European partners decline immediate naval deployments as Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed; strikes hit UAE, Israel and Iraq amid third week of US-Israel war with Iran Standfirst: President Donald Trump criticized some Western allies for hesitating to send warships to protect tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran launched drone and missile attacks across the region. Dubai’s main airport and energy facilities in the UAE…

Nicolas Sarkozy faces retrial over alleged Libyan financing of 2007 campaign Ex-French president appeals five-year sentence; hearing at Paris Appeal Court runs to June 3 Standfirst: A lower court in September convicted Sarkozy of criminal conspiracy in a scheme prosecutors say sought funding from Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya. He served 20 days in jail after the ruling and denies wrongdoing. Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy returned to court for a retrial at the Paris Appeal Court over allegations he sought Libyan financing…

Former U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Iran is seeking talks with the United States but added that the country’s leaders are “all dead,” a remark that left unclear who he was referring to or what prompted the comment. Trump did not provide details to substantiate the assertion. It was not immediately clear whether he meant specific figures within Iran’s political or security establishment or was speaking hyperbolically. No official response from Tehran was immediately available, and there was no public indication…

Two young people die as meningitis cases rise to 13 in Canterbury area, UKHSA says Two young people have died following a meningitis outbreak linked to a cluster in the Canterbury area of Kent, as health officials confirm 13 people with signs and symptoms since Friday. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said it had been notified of 13 cases with signs and symptoms of meningitis between Friday and yesterday in and around Canterbury. Some students at the University of Kent have been given antibiotics as a precaution while…

Veteran journalist John Ware told a London High Court on Monday that former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams’ repeated denials of IRA membership angered members of the group he interviewed — and that, based on decades of reporting, he believes Adams served for more than 30 years on the IRA’s army council and was “one of the single most influential strategists in the Republican movement.” Ware’s evidence came in a civil trial brought by three victims of separate IRA bomb attacks in 1973 and 1996, who allege Adams was directly…

European Union energy ministers will meet today to weigh options for curbing energy costs, as Brussels drafts emergency plans to blunt the impact of surging oil and gas prices triggered by the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The European Commission is preparing a package to shield households and businesses from soaring bills, according to EU officials familiar with the talks. Measures under consideration include targeted state support for energy-intensive industries, temporary cuts to national taxes and…

Police release tattoos details in bid to identify man found in wheelie bin at Coventry park Police in England have released details of “distinctive” tattoos in an urgent appeal to identify a man whose body was discovered in a council wheelie bin at a Coventry park late Friday afternoon. A member of the public found the man, believed to be between 40 and 50 years old, in Cash’s Park off Daimler Road at about 5 p.m. Friday, police said. The victim was inside a Coventry City Council-issued wheelie bin with a green lid.…

PARIS — French voters headed to the polls Sunday to elect mayors and municipal councillors across 35,000 communes in a two-round contest seen as a crucial barometer of the nation’s political mood ahead of next year’s presidential race, when centrist President Emmanuel Macron is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term. The stakes are high for Marine Le Pen’s ascendant far-right National Rally (RN), which views 2027 as its strongest chance yet to take power. While nearly 90% of France’s communes are…

Japan and Australia said they are not planning to send naval vessels to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump called on allies to help reopen the vital waterway amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Trump, arguing that countries dependent on Gulf oil have a responsibility to protect the corridor through which about 20 percent of the world’s energy flows, said his administration has contacted seven nations to form a maritime coalition. He did not identify them, though over the weekend…

Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian couple and their two young children in the town of Tammun in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said Saturday, as violence flared across the territory and in Gaza. The Palestinian health ministry said four members of one family — a 37-year-old man, a 35-year-old woman and two boys ages 5 and 7 — arrived at the Turkish Public Hospital in Tubas with gunshot wounds after troops opened fire on their vehicle. The Palestinian Red Crescent said its teams recovered the…