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Israel targets military bases, infrastructure in Syria

Israel has launched airstrikes on military airbases and infrastructure sites in the Syrian cities of Damascus, Hama and Homs, the Israeli military says. The attack almost completely destroyed the Hama military airport and led to dozens of injuries among civilians and military personnel, the Syrian foreign ministry said. Israel spent years carrying out airstrikes on Syria during former President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, targeting Iran-linked military installations and weapons transfers from Tehran intended for the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, which was deployed in Syrian territory.

Reuters

Israel

Netanyahu heads to Hungary, defying ICC warrant

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has departed for a four-day visit to Hungary, defying an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over allegations of war crimes in Gaza as Israel has expanded its military operation in the enclave. Netanyahu, who is battling a political storm at home over an investigation into suspected ties between Qatar and three of his aides, is due to meet Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Protesters gathered at Ben Gurion International Airport ahead of Netanyahu’s departure, chanting with signs and banners as travellers entered Terminal 3.

Reuters

Russia

6 hours ago

Kremlin envoy meets Witkoff in DC

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev has met with US officials in Washington as the Trump administration continues to press Russia and Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire, two US officials familiar with the matter say. Dmitriev, a Stanford-educated former Goldman Sachs investment banker, is one of the most US-savvy members of Russia’s elite, with close relations to some key members of the Trump team. He is the highest-ranking Russian official to travel to the US on state business since Russia’s 2022 expanded invasion of Ukraine.

Reuters

6 hours ago

USA

UK to keep calm and carry on pursuing trade deal

Britain’s business secretary has vowed to “remain calm” and insisted he still wants a trade deal with the United States after President Donald Trump’s decision to impose import tariffs of 10 per cent on the United Kingdom. Trump said Britain would be among the countries who would face the new lowest tariff rate on imports to the United States, while dozens of other nations faced higher duties. “The US is our closest ally, so our approach is to remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced today,“ Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said after the tariffs were announced.

Reuters

Security

Waltz team set up dozens of Signal chats

The team led by US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz set up at least 20 group chats on the commercial Signal app to coordinate official work on issues involving China, Gaza, Middle East policy, Africa and Europe, Politico has reported. Waltz, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others have faced sharp criticism following revelations last month they used Signal, an encrypted messaging app, to coordinate and share highly sensitive details about a planned military operation targeting the Houthis in Yemen, rather than using secure government communications channels.

Reuters

France

9 hours ago

Police protection for Le Pen judge

The judge who barred far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running in France’s 2027 presidential election is under police protection after facing death threats and having her home address shared online, a source with direct knowledge of the matter...

Reuters

9 hours ago

Politics

10 hours ago

White House dismisses Musk rumours

The White House said that tech billionaire Elon Musk will stay on to complete his mission to slash government spending and downsize the federal workforce, dismissing media reports that he will leave the role soon. Politico and ABC reported that US...

Reuters

10 hours ago

Security

13 hours ago

Russia blasts ‘paranoid’ Britain

Russia said that Britain’s elite had shown its paranoia and intellectual inferiority by proposing to place anyone working for the Russian state on the highest tier of its upcoming foreign influence registration scheme. British security minister Dan...

Reuters

13 hours ago

Greece

19 hours ago

Greece to boost defence spending

Greece aims to spend €25 billion as part of a multi-year defence plan, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has told parliament. The move is part of Greece’s bid to modernise its armed forces as it emerges from the 2009-2018 debt crisis that led to years of austerity, and as it tries to keep pace with its historic rival Turkey. Officials with knowledge of the plan told Reuters in March that it would stretch until 2036 and include the purchase of new submarines, new air, sea and underwater drones, and a communications satellite. Part of the money will be used to develop an anti-aircraft and anti-drone dome, called the “Achilles Shield.“

Reuters

19 hours ago

Travel

22 hours ago

Europeans now need permit for UK travel

European visitors to Britain will have to purchase an electronic permit in advance for trips from Wednesday, as the UK government follows other countries in seeking to strengthen immigration security by screening people before they cross its borders. The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme requires all visitors who do not need a visa to enter Britain to purchase pre-travel authorisation online at a cost of £10 (€12), rising to £16 from April 9. Irish citizens are excluded.

Reuters

22 hours ago

Middle East

US moves to reinforce Middle East

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reinforced US military capability in the Middle East with more warplanes, the Pentagon has revealed, amid a more than two-week-old US bombing campaign in Yemen and mounting tensions with Iran.

Reuters

China

Beijing says Russia ‘friend forever’

China and Russia are “friends forever, never enemies”, Chinese’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said in remarks published during a visit to Moscow in which he also welcomed signs of normalising ties between Washington and Moscow. “The principle of ‘friends forever, never enemies’ ... serves as a solid legal basis for advancing strategic cooperation at a higher level,“ Wang told Russia’s RIA state news agency in an interview.

Reuters

Military

Fourth missing US soldier found in Lithuania

A fourth US Army soldier, who together with three others went missing in Lithuania last week when their vehicle sank in a peat bog, has been found dead, US and Lithuanian officials said. The three other soldiers were found dead after rescuers...

Reuters

Security

Russia tops foreign influence list

Britain said it would place Russia onto the highest tier of its upcoming Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), requiring Moscow to register all efforts to exert political influence in the UK. Ties between Moscow and London are at an all-time...

Reuters

Ukraine

Putin can’t accept US truce deal

Russia cannot accept US proposals to end the war in Ukraine in their current form because they do not address problems Moscow regards as having caused the conflict, a senior Russian diplomat said, suggesting US-Russia talks on the subject had...

Reuters

Asia

Man jumps across splitting skyscraper to reach family

A 36-year-old Korean man recounted the day he leapt across a splitting bridge connecting two skyscraper buildings in Bangkok due to an earthquake centred 1000km away in Myanmar. Kwon Youngjun’s only thought was to get to his wife...

Reuters

France

Bardella: We’ll take to the streets

Far-right party chief Jordan Bardella called on the French to rally this weekend to protest against a ruling that banned Marine Le Pen from running for public office for five years after being found guilty of embezzling European Union funds. The ruling was a catastrophic setback for Le Pen, the long-time National Rally (RN) leader, who had been the front-runner in opinion polls for the 2027 presidential election. “I believe today that the French must be outraged, and I tell them: Be outraged!,“ Bardella said over a ruling that far-right leaders said was biased and undemocratic.

Reuters

Lebanon

Strike kills Hezbollah official

An Israeli airstrike has killed four people including a Hezbollah official in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Lebanese security source says, further testing a shaky ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. The Israeli military said the official – Hassan Bdeir – was a member of a Hezbollah unit and Iran’s Quds Force, and he had assisted the Palestinian group Hamas in planning a “significant and imminent terror attack against Israeli civilians”.

Reuters