![\"Donald](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ce4708dc-donald-trump.jpg\")
WASHINGTON: Russia and Ukraine confirmed on Friday that they had agreed to a US brokered three-day ceasefire that will run from May 9 to May 11, and US President Donald Trump said he hoped it would be extended.
\nTrump’s announcement of the temporary ceasefire on Truth Social earlier in the day also said each country, locked in more than four years of conflict, would exchange 1,000 prisoners of war.
\n“I’d like to see a big extension,” Trump told reporters on Friday evening. “It could be.”
\nBoth Kyiv and Moscow have accused the other of violating ceasefires declared separately this week as Russia readies to hold a Victory Day parade on May 9 that marks the 1945 Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.
\nTrump has grown increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress in ending the Ukraine-Russia war, and a halt in fighting offers a bit of good news for the US president, whose war against Iran with Israel has hurt his domestic approval rating. Efforts to end the Iran war, now in its third month, appeared stalled amid new flare-ups in fighting in the Gulf.
\nThe Ukraine-Russia ceasefire would include a suspension of all “kinetic activity” and a swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
\n“This request was made directly by me, and I very much appreciate its agreement by President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky. Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War,” he said in the post.
\nTrump added that talks were continuing to move towards an end of the war “and we are getting closer and closer every day”.
\nZelenskiy, writing on Telegram, confirmed the ceasefire had been arranged as part of US negotiating efforts and that humanitarian issues remained a key priority.
\n“That is why today, within the framework of the negotiation process mediated by the American side, we received Russia’s agreement to conduct a prisoner of war exchange in the format of 1,000 for 1,000,” Zelenskiy wrote.
\nZelenskiy also issued a tongue-in-cheek decree “allowing” Russia’s May 9 military parade to proceed and saying Ukrainian weapons would not target Red Square. Russia has warned that any attempt by Ukraine to disrupt the Red Square parade on Saturday would trigger a massive missile strike on Kyiv.
\nFriday’s news followed what Zelenskiy described as substantive talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Miami, with US envoys due to visit Kyiv in coming months.
\nKremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, speaking to reporters on Putin’s behalf, said Russia had also agreed to Trump’s initiative.
\n“An agreement on this matter was reached during our telephone discussions with the US administration,” he said.
\nMoscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses had intercepted Ukrainian drones headed for the capital over a seven-hour period ending around 8 pm local time (1700 GMT). Since Trump announced the ceasefire, Moscow has issued one such notice.
\nSeparate ceasefires
\nPutin had unilaterally declared a two-day ceasefire on Friday and Saturday to cover the Victory Day commemorations – Russia’s most revered national holiday.
\nKyiv responded that a ceasefire just for the holiday was inappropriate and called instead for an indefinite truce to begin two days earlier, which Moscow ignored.
\nThe Soviet Union lost 27 million people in World War Two, including many millions in Ukraine, but pushed Nazi forces back to Berlin, where Adolf Hitler killed himself and the red Soviet Victory Banner was raised over the Reichstag in May 1945.
\nThis year’s parade in Moscow – usually a show of Russian military might with intercontinental ballistic missiles and tanks – will have no military equipment on display.
\nMoscow’s troops have been fighting in Ukraine for well over four years – longer than the Soviet involvement, from 1941-45, in what Russians refer to as the Great Patriotic War.
\nRussia, which controls about 19.4% of Ukraine, has seen its advances slow this year, taking just 700 square km in the first four months of the year, according to pro-Ukrainian maps.
\n","content_text":"WASHINGTON: Russia and Ukraine confirmed on Friday that they had agreed to a US brokered three-day ceasefire that will run from May 9 to May 11, and US President Donald Trump said he hoped it would be extended.\nTrump's announcement of the temporary ceasefire on Truth Social earlier in the day also said each country, locked in more than four years of conflict, would exchange 1,000 prisoners of war.\n\"I'd like to see a big extension,\" Trump told reporters on Friday evening. \"It could be.\"\nBoth Kyiv and Moscow have accused the other of violating ceasefires declared separately this week as Russia readies to hold a Victory Day parade on May 9 that marks the 1945 Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.\nTrump has grown increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress in ending the Ukraine-Russia war, and a halt in fighting offers a bit of good news for the US president, whose war against Iran with Israel has hurt his domestic approval rating. Efforts to end the Iran war, now in its third month, appeared stalled amid new flare-ups in fighting in the Gulf.\nThe Ukraine-Russia ceasefire would include a suspension of all \"kinetic activity\" and a swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.\n\"This request was made directly by me, and I very much appreciate its agreement by President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky. Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War,\" he said in the post.\nTrump added that talks were continuing to move towards an end of the war \"and we are getting closer and closer every day\".\nZelenskiy, writing on Telegram, confirmed the ceasefire had been arranged as part of US negotiating efforts and that humanitarian issues remained a key priority.\n\"That is why today, within the framework of the negotiation process mediated by the American side, we received Russia's agreement to conduct a prisoner of war exchange in the format of 1,000 for 1,000,\" Zelenskiy wrote.\nZelenskiy also issued a tongue-in-cheek decree \"allowing\" Russia's May 9 military parade to proceed and saying Ukrainian weapons would not target Red Square. Russia has warned that any attempt by Ukraine to disrupt the Red Square parade on Saturday would trigger a massive missile strike on Kyiv.\nFriday's news followed what Zelenskiy described as substantive talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Miami, with US envoys due to visit Kyiv in coming months.\nKremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, speaking to reporters on Putin's behalf, said Russia had also agreed to Trump's initiative.\n\"An agreement on this matter was reached during our telephone discussions with the US administration,\" he said.\nMoscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses had intercepted Ukrainian drones headed for the capital over a seven-hour period ending around 8 pm local time (1700 GMT). Since Trump announced the ceasefire, Moscow has issued one such notice.\nSeparate ceasefires\nPutin had unilaterally declared a two-day ceasefire on Friday and Saturday to cover the Victory Day commemorations - Russia's most revered national holiday.\nKyiv responded that a ceasefire just for the holiday was inappropriate and called instead for an indefinite truce to begin two days earlier, which Moscow ignored.\nThe Soviet Union lost 27 million people in World War Two, including many millions in Ukraine, but pushed Nazi forces back to Berlin, where Adolf Hitler killed himself and the red Soviet Victory Banner was raised over the Reichstag in May 1945.\nThis year's parade in Moscow - usually a show of Russian military might with intercontinental ballistic missiles and tanks - will have no military equipment on display.\nMoscow's troops have been fighting in Ukraine for well over four years - longer than the Soviet involvement, from 1941-45, in what Russians refer to as the Great Patriotic War.\nRussia, which controls about 19.4% of Ukraine, has seen its advances slow this year, taking just 700 square km in the first four months of the year, according to pro-Ukrainian maps.","date_published":"2026-05-09T01:13:31.000Z","author":{"name":"Reuters"},"tags":["World","Top World","agreed","ceasefire","extension","hopes","three-day","Trump","Ukraine-Russia"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ce4708dc-donald-trump.jpg","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ce4708dc-donald-trump.jpg"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/09/who-chief-due-in-canaries-to-coordinate-hantavirus-ship-evacuation","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/09/who-chief-due-in-canaries-to-coordinate-hantavirus-ship-evacuation","title":"WHO chief due in Canaries to coordinate hantavirus ship evacuation","summary":"Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus would help Spanish authorities coordinate health controls, surveillance and response protocols during the evacuation of passengers affected by hantavirus.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/94faeeba-who-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus-070824.webp\")
GENEVA: WHO’s chief is due in the Spanish island of Tenerife on Saturday to help coordinate the evacuation of passengers hit by the hantavirus, Spanish ministry sources said.
\nTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will accompany Spain’s health and interior ministers to a command post there “to ensure coordination between administrations, health control, and the application of the planned surveillance and response protocols”, the sources said.
\nThree passengers from the MV Hondius — a Dutch husband and wife and a German woman — have died, while others have fallen sick with the rare disease, which usually spreads among rodents.
\nThe only hantavirus strain that can transmit from person to person — Andes virus — has been confirmed among those who have tested positive, fuelling international concern.
\nThe Dutch-flagged vessel, which has around 150 people on board, is expected to arrive at the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife on Sunday. Special flights will then take passengers to their home countries.
\nThere are six confirmed cases of hantavirus so far out of eight suspected ones following an outbreak on a cruise ship, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday.
\n“As of 8 May, a total of eight cases, including three deaths (case fatality ratio 38%), have been reported. Six cases have been laboratory-confirmed as hantavirus infections, with all identified as Andes virus (ANDV),” it said in a statement.
\n“WHO assesses the risk to the global population posed by this event as low and will continue to monitor the epidemiological situation and update the risk assessment”.
\n“The risk for passengers and crew on the ship is considered moderate,” it added.
\nKLM flight attendant negative
\nA flight attendant on the Dutch airline KLM, who came into contact with an infected passenger from the cruise ship and later showed mild symptoms, tested negative for hantavirus, the WHO said Friday.
\nThe passenger — the wife of the first person to die in the outbreak — had briefly been on a plane bound from Johannesburg to the Netherlands on April 25, but was removed before take-off.
\nShe died the following day in a Johannesburg hospital.
\nSpanish authorities said a woman on that flight was being tested for hantavirus, having developed symptoms at home in eastern Spain. She is in isolation in hospital, said health secretary Javier Padilla.
\n“This is a pretty unlikely case,” he told reporters: someone “two rows behind the person who died with hantavirus”.
\nSpanish interior ministry sources said a South African woman who was also on the flight “is currently asymptomatic in South Africa after staying in Barcelona for a week before returning to her country”.
\n\n
\n","content_text":"GENEVA: WHO's chief is due in the Spanish island of Tenerife on Saturday to help coordinate the evacuation of passengers hit by the hantavirus, Spanish ministry sources said.\nTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will accompany Spain's health and interior ministers to a command post there \"to ensure coordination between administrations, health control, and the application of the planned surveillance and response protocols\", the sources said.\nThree passengers from the MV Hondius - a Dutch husband and wife and a German woman - have died, while others have fallen sick with the rare disease, which usually spreads among rodents.\nThe only hantavirus strain that can transmit from person to person - Andes virus - has been confirmed among those who have tested positive, fuelling international concern.\nThe Dutch-flagged vessel, which has around 150 people on board, is expected to arrive at the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife on Sunday. Special flights will then take passengers to their home countries.\nThere are six confirmed cases of hantavirus so far out of eight suspected ones following an outbreak on a cruise ship, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday.\n\"As of 8 May, a total of eight cases, including three deaths (case fatality ratio 38%), have been reported. Six cases have been laboratory-confirmed as hantavirus infections, with all identified as Andes virus (ANDV),\" it said in a statement.\n\"WHO assesses the risk to the global population posed by this event as low and will continue to monitor the epidemiological situation and update the risk assessment\".\n\"The risk for passengers and crew on the ship is considered moderate,\" it added.\nKLM flight attendant negative\nA flight attendant on the Dutch airline KLM, who came into contact with an infected passenger from the cruise ship and later showed mild symptoms, tested negative for hantavirus, the WHO said Friday.\nThe passenger - the wife of the first person to die in the outbreak - had briefly been on a plane bound from Johannesburg to the Netherlands on April 25, but was removed before take-off.\nShe died the following day in a Johannesburg hospital.\nSpanish authorities said a woman on that flight was being tested for hantavirus, having developed symptoms at home in eastern Spain. She is in isolation in hospital, said health secretary Javier Padilla.\n\"This is a pretty unlikely case,\" he told reporters: someone \"two rows behind the person who died with hantavirus\".\nSpanish interior ministry sources said a South African woman who was also on the flight \"is currently asymptomatic in South Africa after staying in Barcelona for a week before returning to her country\".","date_published":"2026-05-09T00:09:17.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","cases","confirmed","hantavirus","health","Netherlands","six","so far","Spain","WHO"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/94faeeba-who-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus-070824.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/94faeeba-who-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus-070824.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/09/us-plans-evacuation-flight-for-americans-on-hantavirus-ship","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/09/us-plans-evacuation-flight-for-americans-on-hantavirus-ship","title":"US plans evacuation flight for Americans on hantavirus ship","summary":"The World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier that the US was among 12 countries which had nationals who disembarked the ship at Saint Helena.","content_html":"
![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/077049be-mv-hondius-08052026.webp\")
WASHINGTON: The US said Friday it was organising an evacuation flight for Americans on a hantavirus-struck cruise ship that has sailed to the Canary Islands.
\n“The Department of State is arranging a repatriation flight to support the safe return of American passengers on this ship,” a State Department spokesperson said.
\nThe State Department said it was coordinating with the Spanish government as well as other US federal agencies.
\n“We are in direct communication with Americans on board and are prepared to provide consular assistance as soon as the ship arrives in Tenerife, Spain,” the spokesperson said on customary condition of anonymity.
\nThe ship operator earlier said that 17 Americans were onboard. The State Department did not immediately give a number of US passengers.
\nWHO said earlier that the US was among 12 countries which had nationals who disembarked the ship at Saint Helena.
\n","content_text":"WASHINGTON: The US said Friday it was organising an evacuation flight for Americans on a hantavirus-struck cruise ship that has sailed to the Canary Islands.\n\"The Department of State is arranging a repatriation flight to support the safe return of American passengers on this ship,\" a State Department spokesperson said.\nThe State Department said it was coordinating with the Spanish government as well as other US federal agencies.\n\"We are in direct communication with Americans on board and are prepared to provide consular assistance as soon as the ship arrives in Tenerife, Spain,\" the spokesperson said on customary condition of anonymity.\nThe ship operator earlier said that 17 Americans were onboard. The State Department did not immediately give a number of US passengers.\nWHO said earlier that the US was among 12 countries which had nationals who disembarked the ship at Saint Helena.","date_published":"2026-05-08T23:08:02.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","Americans","evacuation","flight","hantavirus","plans","ship","US"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/077049be-mv-hondius-08052026.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/077049be-mv-hondius-08052026.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/05/09/us-imposes-sanctions-on-10-individuals-companies-for-aiding-irans-weapons-sector","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/05/09/us-imposes-sanctions-on-10-individuals-companies-for-aiding-irans-weapons-sector","title":"US imposes sanctions on 10 individuals, companies for aiding Iran’s weapons sector","summary":"The Treasury's move comes days before US President Donald Trump plans to travel to China for a meeting with President Xi Jinping.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/US-Department-of-The-Treasury-Reuters1.jpg\")
WASHINGTON: The US Treasury on Friday announced sanctions against 10 individuals and companies, including several in China and Hong Kong, for aiding efforts by Iran’s military to secure weapons and raw materials used to build Tehran’s Shahed drones.
\nThe Treasury move, first reported by Reuters, comes days before US President Donald Trump plans to travel to China for a meeting with President Xi Jinping and as efforts to end the war with Iran have stalled.
\nIn a statement, Treasury said it remains ready to take economic action against Iran’s military industrial base so Tehran cannot reconstitute its production capacity and project power outside its borders.
\nTreasury said it was also prepared to act against any foreign company supporting illicit Iranian commerce, including airlines, and could impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that aid Iran’s efforts, including those connected to China’s independent “teapot” oil refineries.
\n“Under President Trump’s decisive leadership, we will continue to act to Keep America Safe and target foreign individuals and companies providing Iran’s military with weapons for use against US forces,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
\n","content_text":"WASHINGTON: The US Treasury on Friday announced sanctions against 10 individuals and companies, including several in China and Hong Kong, for aiding efforts by Iran's military to secure weapons and raw materials used to build Tehran's Shahed drones.\nThe Treasury move, first reported by Reuters, comes days before US President Donald Trump plans to travel to China for a meeting with President Xi Jinping and as efforts to end the war with Iran have stalled.\nIn a statement, Treasury said it remains ready to take economic action against Iran's military industrial base so Tehran cannot reconstitute its production capacity and project power outside its borders.\nTreasury said it was also prepared to act against any foreign company supporting illicit Iranian commerce, including airlines, and could impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that aid Iran's efforts, including those connected to China's independent \"teapot\" oil refineries.\n“Under President Trump’s decisive leadership, we will continue to act to Keep America Safe and target foreign individuals and companies providing Iran’s military with weapons for use against US forces,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.","date_published":"2026-05-08T22:50:05.000Z","author":{"name":"Reuters"},"tags":["World","Top World","Business","World Business","Top Business","10","aiding","companies","individuals","Iran's","sanctions","sector","US","weapons"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/US-Department-of-The-Treasury-Reuters1.jpg","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/US-Department-of-The-Treasury-Reuters1.jpg"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/09/nepal-issues-record-492-climbing-permits-for-everest","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/09/nepal-issues-record-492-climbing-permits-for-everest","title":"Nepal issues record 492 climbing permits for Everest","summary":"The last record was in 2023 when 478 permits were issued in a post-pandemic rush on the mountains.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/d2b423c8-mount-everest-reuters-pic.webp\")
KATHMANDU: Nepal has issued a record 492 permits to climb Mount Everest this spring, officials said on Friday.
\n“We have issued a historic high number of permits for Sagarmatha,” Himal Gautam, spokesman for the tourism department, told AFP.
\nThe last record was in 2023 when 478 permits were issued in a post-pandemic rush on the mountains.
\nAs most of these mountaineers will attempt to summit Everest with the help of at least one Nepali guide, about a thousand climbers will be heading for the summit in the next few weeks.
\nA team of highly skilled mountaineers, known in Nepal as “icefall doctors”, began fixing ropes and ladders on Everest last month, to prepare for the spring climbing season.
\nBut a serac — a block of glacial ice — above the already treacherous Khumbu icefall disrupted their work, sparking fears of delays in the limited summit season on the world’s highest peak.
\nGautam said that the route has been opened up to the South Col mountain pass at 7,906 metres (26,000 feet) through an alternate road.
\n“Climbers are now making acclimatisation rotations as usual and we hope for a good season,” Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks, one of the biggest expedition organisers, told AFP.
\nHowever, the high number of climbers raises fears of heavy traffic and bottlenecks en route to the summit if there is a shorter window to reach it because of unfavourable weather.
\nIn 2019, a massive queue on Everest forced teams to wait hours in freezing temperatures and causing oxygen levels to be depleted leading to sickness and exhaustion.
\nAt least four of 11 deaths that year were blamed on overcrowding.
\nChina has closed the summit from the northern Tibet side this season, causing an extra flow of climbers in the south.
\nThe highest number of climbers receiving permits this season were from China (109), followed by the United States (76).
\nNepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks and foreign climbers who flock to its mountains are a major source of revenue for the country.
\nThe government has collected a total of US$7.1 million from the Everest permits.
\n","content_text":"KATHMANDU: Nepal has issued a record 492 permits to climb Mount Everest this spring, officials said on Friday.\n\"We have issued a historic high number of permits for Sagarmatha,\" Himal Gautam, spokesman for the tourism department, told AFP.\nThe last record was in 2023 when 478 permits were issued in a post-pandemic rush on the mountains.\nAs most of these mountaineers will attempt to summit Everest with the help of at least one Nepali guide, about a thousand climbers will be heading for the summit in the next few weeks.\nA team of highly skilled mountaineers, known in Nepal as \"icefall doctors\", began fixing ropes and ladders on Everest last month, to prepare for the spring climbing season.\nBut a serac - a block of glacial ice - above the already treacherous Khumbu icefall disrupted their work, sparking fears of delays in the limited summit season on the world's highest peak.\nGautam said that the route has been opened up to the South Col mountain pass at 7,906 metres (26,000 feet) through an alternate road.\n\"Climbers are now making acclimatisation rotations as usual and we hope for a good season,\" Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks, one of the biggest expedition organisers, told AFP.\nHowever, the high number of climbers raises fears of heavy traffic and bottlenecks en route to the summit if there is a shorter window to reach it because of unfavourable weather.\nIn 2019, a massive queue on Everest forced teams to wait hours in freezing temperatures and causing oxygen levels to be depleted leading to sickness and exhaustion.\nAt least four of 11 deaths that year were blamed on overcrowding.\nChina has closed the summit from the northern Tibet side this season, causing an extra flow of climbers in the south.\nThe highest number of climbers receiving permits this season were from China (109), followed by the United States (76).\nNepal is home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks and foreign climbers who flock to its mountains are a major source of revenue for the country.\nThe government has collected a total of US$7.1 million from the Everest permits.","date_published":"2026-05-08T22:31:23.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["Highlight","World","Top World","492","climbing","Everest","Mountaineering","mountains","Nepal","permits","record"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/d2b423c8-mount-everest-reuters-pic.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/d2b423c8-mount-everest-reuters-pic.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/09/uk-pm-starmer-vows-to-fight-on-after-local-polls-drubbing","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/09/uk-pm-starmer-vows-to-fight-on-after-local-polls-drubbing","title":"UK PM Starmer vows to fight on after local polls drubbing","summary":"Keir Starmer, facing months of calls to quit from rivals and some Labour MPs, insisted he would 'not walk away and plunge the country into chaos'.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/13657470-Keir-Starmer.webp\")
LONDON: Keir Starmer vowed Friday to remain as Britain’s prime minister after disastrous local elections saw his centre-left Labour party humiliated across the UK, with disillusioned voters backing hard-right and nationalist parties.
\nThursday’s ballots — Starmer’s biggest electoral test since Labour ousted the Conservatives in 2024 — left the British leader under intense pressure after the party suffered a historic mauling in its Welsh heartlands.
\nAlongside the Tories, it was also decimated by Nigel Farage’s anti-immigrant Reform UK party across England, and failed to make any inroads into Scottish National Party (SNP) dominance north of the border.
\nBut Starmer, who has faced persistent calls to quit from rival party leaders and some Labour MPs for months, was adamant he was “not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos”.
\n“The results are tough, they are very tough, and there’s no sugarcoating it,” the 63-year-old said, adding “it should hurt, and I take responsibility”.
\nSeveral cabinet members voiced support for him, and the lack of an obvious alternative leader has reduced the immediate peril of a potential challenge.
\nFarage, whose upstart party has led national polls for over a year and seized a string of Labour and Conservative councils Friday, predicted Starmer would be ousted within months.
\nThe Brexit architect claimed the elections illustrated a “truly historic shift in British politics”.
\n“We have not just crashed the ‘red wall’,” Farage said of Reform wins in Labour’s post-industrial traditional strongholds across northern England.
\n“Today in Essex we crashed the ‘blue wall’ as well,” he added, celebrating victory in the eastern English county where the Tories had long dominated.
\nIn Wales, Labour lost control of the devolved government for the first time since the parliament in Cardiff was established 27 years ago, with its leader there embarrassingly losing her seat.
\nNationalists Plaid Cymru, which wants Welsh independence in the long-term, won 43 seats — falling short of a majority.
\nReform followed on 34, leaving Labour in third with just nine seats, a humiliation for a party that has dominated Welsh politics for a century.
\nJust two years ago, Labour swept the Conservatives from power in a landslide general election victory.
\nBut it has failed to deliver promised economic growth and has been plagued by policy missteps and scandals.
\nInsurgent parties have reaped the benefit, as Britons struggle with an enduring cost-of-living crisis.
\nAround 5,000 English local council seats — just under a third of the nationwide total — were up for grabs Thursday, alongside the entire devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales.
\nBy late Friday, with nearly all the 136 councils reporting, Labour had lost nearly 1,400 councillors and control of 33 councils, while Reform had gained nearly 1,500 local lawmakers.
\nFarage’s party had seized control of 13 councils — including historic Labour-controlled places.
\nThe Greens, which have veered left under the leadership of self-described eco-populist Zack Polanski, gained nearly 400 extra councillors and won control of several councils.
\nPolanski called the era of two-party politics “dead and buried”.
\nBack in England, Kemi Badenoch’s right-wing Conservatives lost more than 500 councillors and six councils. Badenoch pledged the party was “renewing” and would “keep fighting”.
\nThe centrist Liberal Democrats enjoyed moderate success, gaining 115 councillors in England and at least five extra MSPs in Edinburgh.
\nThe fellow pro-European Greens were also up five seats in Scotland and fared well in London where it gained more than 100 councillors and its first directly-elected mayors.
\n","content_text":"LONDON: Keir Starmer vowed Friday to remain as Britain's prime minister after disastrous local elections saw his centre-left Labour party humiliated across the UK, with disillusioned voters backing hard-right and nationalist parties.\nThursday's ballots - Starmer's biggest electoral test since Labour ousted the Conservatives in 2024 - left the British leader under intense pressure after the party suffered a historic mauling in its Welsh heartlands.\nAlongside the Tories, it was also decimated by Nigel Farage's anti-immigrant Reform UK party across England, and failed to make any inroads into Scottish National Party (SNP) dominance north of the border.\nBut Starmer, who has faced persistent calls to quit from rival party leaders and some Labour MPs for months, was adamant he was \"not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos\".\n\"The results are tough, they are very tough, and there's no sugarcoating it,\" the 63-year-old said, adding \"it should hurt, and I take responsibility\".\nSeveral cabinet members voiced support for him, and the lack of an obvious alternative leader has reduced the immediate peril of a potential challenge.\nFarage, whose upstart party has led national polls for over a year and seized a string of Labour and Conservative councils Friday, predicted Starmer would be ousted within months.\nThe Brexit architect claimed the elections illustrated a \"truly historic shift in British politics\".\n\"We have not just crashed the 'red wall',\" Farage said of Reform wins in Labour's post-industrial traditional strongholds across northern England.\n\"Today in Essex we crashed the 'blue wall' as well,\" he added, celebrating victory in the eastern English county where the Tories had long dominated.\nIn Wales, Labour lost control of the devolved government for the first time since the parliament in Cardiff was established 27 years ago, with its leader there embarrassingly losing her seat.\nNationalists Plaid Cymru, which wants Welsh independence in the long-term, won 43 seats - falling short of a majority.\nReform followed on 34, leaving Labour in third with just nine seats, a humiliation for a party that has dominated Welsh politics for a century.\nJust two years ago, Labour swept the Conservatives from power in a landslide general election victory.\nBut it has failed to deliver promised economic growth and has been plagued by policy missteps and scandals.\nInsurgent parties have reaped the benefit, as Britons struggle with an enduring cost-of-living crisis.\nAround 5,000 English local council seats - just under a third of the nationwide total - were up for grabs Thursday, alongside the entire devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales.\nBy late Friday, with nearly all the 136 councils reporting, Labour had lost nearly 1,400 councillors and control of 33 councils, while Reform had gained nearly 1,500 local lawmakers.\nFarage's party had seized control of 13 councils - including historic Labour-controlled places.\nThe Greens, which have veered left under the leadership of self-described eco-populist Zack Polanski, gained nearly 400 extra councillors and won control of several councils.\nPolanski called the era of two-party politics \"dead and buried\".\nBack in England, Kemi Badenoch's right-wing Conservatives lost more than 500 councillors and six councils. Badenoch pledged the party was \"renewing\" and would \"keep fighting\".\nThe centrist Liberal Democrats enjoyed moderate success, gaining 115 councillors in England and at least five extra MSPs in Edinburgh.\nThe fellow pro-European Greens were also up five seats in Scotland and fared well in London where it gained more than 100 councillors and its first directly-elected mayors.","date_published":"2026-05-08T22:17:14.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["Highlight","World","Top World","drubbing","Fight","local","PM","polls","starmer","UK","Vows"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/13657470-Keir-Starmer.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/13657470-Keir-Starmer.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/09/tiny-shifts-seen-in-divided-aseans-approach-to-myanmar","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/09/tiny-shifts-seen-in-divided-aseans-approach-to-myanmar","title":"Tiny shifts seen in divided Asean’s approach to Myanmar","summary":"Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Asean members were 'frustrated' by the failure to implement the bloc’s five-point peace plan and suggested it needed 'fine-tuning'.","content_html":"![\"Philippine](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/6ad7c432-ferdinand-marcos-jr-epa09_05_26.webp\")
CEBU: Myanmar’s junta moved deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to house arrest last week but that was not enough to ease deep divisions among Asean leaders over how best to engage with the outcast state.
\nMyanmar is still a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) bloc but has been formally excluded from summits such as the one held in the central Philippines this week since the military junta snatched power.
\nThe junta’s 2021 coup toppled Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government, triggering a bloody civil war and a crackdown on dissent.
\nPhilippines President Ferdinand Marcos said on Friday members were “frustrated” by the years-long failure to successfully implement the bloc’s five-point peace plan, suggesting a “fine-tuning” was in order.
\n“One of the arguments that was made is that the world has turned how many times since we started this discussion… and perhaps the context has changed a little bit,” he said.
\n“Unfortunately, we have not seen… any progress in Myanmar,” he added, describing an occasionally “emotional” meeting in Cebu.
\nA Thai diplomat confirmed that Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow had suggested Asean invite his Myanmar counterpart for a meeting.
\n“We need to change the way that we are engaging with Myanmar,” the diplomat told reporters on Friday.
\nMaratee Nalita Andamo, deputy spokeswoman for Thailand’s foreign affairs department, said the “proposal was for engagement with Myanmar at the political level… and it was the start of a discussion”.
\nShe said it had been received “in a positive light”.
\nHowever, a potential softening of the 11-member bloc’s stance is not palatable to every member.
\nMalaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told reporters on Thursday his country did not believe the junta had done enough to reclaim a seat at the table.
\n“We still feel uncomfortable, because oppression is still taking place, atrocities towards their own citizens are still occurring,” he said of Myanmar’s junta.
\n“We want the new government formed after the election in Myanmar to truly follow what we set out in our (peace plan),” he said.
\nA fraying consensus
\n“Asean consensus on this matter is fraying,” said Dr Siew Mun Tang, a senior fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute
\nThere were member states ready to “let bygones be bygones”, given the bloc’s longstanding lack of progress.
\n“There’s no way you’re going to turn back the clock, right? So let’s move forward,” he said in describing the view of those states.
\nHe said Thailand’s porous border with Myanmar made it an “urgent national security” issue.
\nSharon Seah, a principal fellow at the same university, said the bloc had limited leverage.
\n“The only real leverage Asean has is letting (Myanmar) play with the big boys at these summits,” she said, noting it still attends smaller meetings.
\nWhile it is widely believed Indonesia and Singapore are aligned with Malaysia, countries in the middle could tip the scales at some point, Seah said.
\n“I would say there’s a fairly sizeable group of middle-group countries,” she said, identifying Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and possibly Brunei as potential “fence-sitters”.
\n“They can go either way if they see that there’s actually some strategic sense in getting Myanmar to come back into the fold.”
\nOne millimetre
\nBefore heading to a gala dinner that ended the summit, Marcos said Asean members had left their Friday afternoon session asking “what more can we do?”
\nEven a small shift in policy could potentially be of benefit, he said.
\n“Sometimes, when you move the parameters one millimetre, it makes all the difference,” he said, insisting that would not mean abandoning human rights.
\n“We’re asking all the member states, all the leaders and their ministries, what that millimetre shift could possibly be,” he said.
\n“There are no definitive answers as yet, but we are certainly going to work on it very, very hard.”
\n","content_text":"CEBU: Myanmar's junta moved deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to house arrest last week but that was not enough to ease deep divisions among Asean leaders over how best to engage with the outcast state.\nMyanmar is still a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) bloc but has been formally excluded from summits such as the one held in the central Philippines this week since the military junta snatched power.\nThe junta's 2021 coup toppled Suu Kyi's democratically elected government, triggering a bloody civil war and a crackdown on dissent.\nPhilippines President Ferdinand Marcos said on Friday members were \"frustrated\" by the years-long failure to successfully implement the bloc's five-point peace plan, suggesting a \"fine-tuning\" was in order.\n\"One of the arguments that was made is that the world has turned how many times since we started this discussion... and perhaps the context has changed a little bit,\" he said.\n\"Unfortunately, we have not seen... any progress in Myanmar,\" he added, describing an occasionally \"emotional\" meeting in Cebu.\nA Thai diplomat confirmed that Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow had suggested Asean invite his Myanmar counterpart for a meeting.\n\"We need to change the way that we are engaging with Myanmar,\" the diplomat told reporters on Friday.\nMaratee Nalita Andamo, deputy spokeswoman for Thailand's foreign affairs department, said the \"proposal was for engagement with Myanmar at the political level... and it was the start of a discussion\".\nShe said it had been received \"in a positive light\".\nHowever, a potential softening of the 11-member bloc's stance is not palatable to every member.\nMalaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told reporters on Thursday his country did not believe the junta had done enough to reclaim a seat at the table.\n\"We still feel uncomfortable, because oppression is still taking place, atrocities towards their own citizens are still occurring,\" he said of Myanmar's junta.\n\"We want the new government formed after the election in Myanmar to truly follow what we set out in our (peace plan),\" he said.\nA fraying consensus\n\"Asean consensus on this matter is fraying,\" said Dr Siew Mun Tang, a senior fellow at Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute\nThere were member states ready to \"let bygones be bygones\", given the bloc's longstanding lack of progress.\n\"There's no way you're going to turn back the clock, right? So let's move forward,\" he said in describing the view of those states.\nHe said Thailand's porous border with Myanmar made it an \"urgent national security\" issue.\nSharon Seah, a principal fellow at the same university, said the bloc had limited leverage.\n\"The only real leverage Asean has is letting (Myanmar) play with the big boys at these summits,\" she said, noting it still attends smaller meetings.\nWhile it is widely believed Indonesia and Singapore are aligned with Malaysia, countries in the middle could tip the scales at some point, Seah said.\n\"I would say there's a fairly sizeable group of middle-group countries,\" she said, identifying Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and possibly Brunei as potential \"fence-sitters\".\n\"They can go either way if they see that there's actually some strategic sense in getting Myanmar to come back into the fold.\"\nOne millimetre\nBefore heading to a gala dinner that ended the summit, Marcos said Asean members had left their Friday afternoon session asking \"what more can we do?\"\nEven a small shift in policy could potentially be of benefit, he said.\n\"Sometimes, when you move the parameters one millimetre, it makes all the difference,\" he said, insisting that would not mean abandoning human rights.\n\"We're asking all the member states, all the leaders and their ministries, what that millimetre shift could possibly be,\" he said.\n\"There are no definitive answers as yet, but we are certainly going to work on it very, very hard.\"","date_published":"2026-05-08T21:16:18.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["Highlight","World","Top World","approach","Asean","Cebu","divided","Myanmar","shifts","tiny"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/6ad7c432-ferdinand-marcos-jr-epa09_05_26.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/6ad7c432-ferdinand-marcos-jr-epa09_05_26.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/09/labour-loses-power-in-wales-for-first-time-since-1999-devolution","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/09/labour-loses-power-in-wales-for-first-time-since-1999-devolution","title":"Labour loses power in Wales for first time since 1999 devolution","summary":"Plaid Cymru won 43 -- falling short of a majority -- while anti-immigration Reform UK were second with 34 leaving Labour trailing in third winning just nine seats.","content_html":"![\"Staff](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/c02bed3d-britain-local-election-afp09_05_26.webp\")
LONDON: Britain’s Labour Party lost power Friday in Wales for the first time since its devolved assembly was created in 1999, as the nationalist Plaid Cymru won the most seats in local elections, the BBC reported.
\nWith all 96 seats declared, Plaid Cymru won 43 — falling short of a majority — while anti-immigration Reform UK were second with 34 leaving Labour trailing in third winning just nine seats.
\nIt represented a humiliating result in its traditional heartlands for centre-left Labour, the ruling party in London which has dominated Welsh politics for more than a century.
\nIts leader in Wales, Eluned Morgan, lost her seat and promptly announced she was standing down from the role, after becoming the first head of a government in the UK to lose her seat while in office.
\n“Welsh Labour has today suffered a catastrophic result,” she said shortly after the results were announced.
\n“It ends a century of Labour winning in Wales, and the party will need to take a really hard look at itself, and understand the depth of the challenge that we face.”
\nShe later said Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour party — in power in London but deeply unpopular and also humbled in Thursday’s local elections in England and Scotland — needed to “change course”.
\nPlaid Cymru’s leader Rhun ap Iorwerth, said the election showed Wales wanted a “change of leadership”.
\n“Plaid Cymru stands ready to take the necessary steps to form the next government of Wales,” he later added in a victory speech.
\nThe Welsh parliament was created 27 years ago after Tony Blair’s Labour government devolved power from London to new legislatures in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast in key areas including healthcare, transport and social policies.
\nThe UK government sets policies for England, and retains control over countrywide issues such as foreign policy and defence.
\n","content_text":"Counting got under way on Friday after polls closed across England, Scotland and Wales late on Thursday, with beleaguered Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Conservative rivals both facing heavy losses. (AFP pic)\n\nLONDON: Britain's Labour Party lost power Friday in Wales for the first time since its devolved assembly was created in 1999, as the nationalist Plaid Cymru won the most seats in local elections, the BBC reported.\nWith all 96 seats declared, Plaid Cymru won 43 - falling short of a majority - while anti-immigration Reform UK were second with 34 leaving Labour trailing in third winning just nine seats.\nIt represented a humiliating result in its traditional heartlands for centre-left Labour, the ruling party in London which has dominated Welsh politics for more than a century.\nIts leader in Wales, Eluned Morgan, lost her seat and promptly announced she was standing down from the role, after becoming the first head of a government in the UK to lose her seat while in office.\n\"Welsh Labour has today suffered a catastrophic result,\" she said shortly after the results were announced.\n\"It ends a century of Labour winning in Wales, and the party will need to take a really hard look at itself, and understand the depth of the challenge that we face.\"\nShe later said Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour party - in power in London but deeply unpopular and also humbled in Thursday's local elections in England and Scotland - needed to \"change course\".\nPlaid Cymru's leader Rhun ap Iorwerth, said the election showed Wales wanted a \"change of leadership\".\n\"Plaid Cymru stands ready to take the necessary steps to form the next government of Wales,\" he later added in a victory speech.\nThe Welsh parliament was created 27 years ago after Tony Blair's Labour government devolved power from London to new legislatures in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast in key areas including healthcare, transport and social policies.\nThe UK government sets policies for England, and retains control over countrywide issues such as foreign policy and defence.","date_published":"2026-05-08T20:52:21.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["Highlight","World","Top World","1999","devolution","first","labour","loses","Power","TIME","Wales"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/c02bed3d-britain-local-election-afp09_05_26.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/c02bed3d-britain-local-election-afp09_05_26.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/indonesia-reports-2-suspected-hantavirus-cases","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/indonesia-reports-2-suspected-hantavirus-cases","title":"Indonesia reports 2 suspected hantavirus cases","summary":"Health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the government had coordinated with the WHO to strengthen screening and early detection.","content_html":"![\"This](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/8ae76a33-hantavirus-afp-07_05_26.webp\")
JAKARTA: Indonesia has reported two suspected hantavirus cases in Jakarta and Yogyakarta amid concerns over an outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius, the country’s health ministry said on Friday, reported Xinhua.
\n“Two suspected cases are currently undergoing confirmation,” said Aji Muhawarman, head of the ministry’s communication and public information bureau.
\nIndonesia recorded 23 confirmed cases between 2024 and 2026, with three deaths, he said.
\nHealth minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the government had coordinated with the World Health Organization to strengthen screening and early detection.
\n","content_text":"JAKARTA: Indonesia has reported two suspected hantavirus cases in Jakarta and Yogyakarta amid concerns over an outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius, the country's health ministry said on Friday, reported Xinhua.\n\"Two suspected cases are currently undergoing confirmation,\" said Aji Muhawarman, head of the ministry’s communication and public information bureau.\nIndonesia recorded 23 confirmed cases between 2024 and 2026, with three deaths, he said.\nHealth minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the government had coordinated with the World Health Organization to strengthen screening and early detection.","date_published":"2026-05-08T15:54:58.000Z","author":{"name":"Bernama"},"tags":["South East Asia","World","Top World","Hantavirus Indonesia","Health ministry Indonesia","Jakarta cases","MV Hondius cruise","WHO coordination","Yogyakarta outbreak"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/8ae76a33-hantavirus-afp-07_05_26.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/8ae76a33-hantavirus-afp-07_05_26.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/rubio-urges-europeans-to-share-the-iran-burden","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/rubio-urges-europeans-to-share-the-iran-burden","title":"Rubio urges Europeans to share the Iran burden","summary":"The appeal was aimed at Italy as well as other European countries, which Donald Trump criticised for not helping the US to protect the Strait of Hormuz.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/badf5531-marco-rubio-08052026.webp\")
ROME: US secretary of state Marco Rubio concluded a two-day visit to Rome on Friday, where he sought to ease tensions with Pope Leo and urged Europeans to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.
\nThe task was not easy, given President Donald Trump’s recent sharp criticism of both the Catholic leader and Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a close ally of the US leader.
\n“The world has to start asking itself, what is it willing to do if Iran tries to normalise control of an international waterway? I think that’s unacceptable,” he told reporters after meeting Meloni.
\nThe appeal was aimed at Italy as well as other European countries, which Trump criticised for not helping the United States to protect the Strait.
\nTehran seized control of the narrow chokepoint to the Gulf, a major transport route for oil, gas and fertiliser, after US and Israeli forces attacked Iran on Feb 28, triggering the Middle East war.
\nAfter saying 5,000 troops will be withdrawn from Germany, Trump has threatened to pull US troops from Italy and Spain due to their refusal to get involved in the conflict and has questioned his country’s membership in Nato.
\n“If one of the main reasons why the US is in Nato is the ability to have forces deployed in Europe that we could project to other contingencies, and now that’s no longer the case, at least when it comes to some Nato members, that’s a problem, and it has to be examined,” Rubio said.
\nHe added, however, that the US president had not yet decided how to reprimand these countries.
\n‘Frank’ talks
\nMeloni and Rubio met at her Palazzo Chigi office for almost 90 minutes after talks with his counterpart, foreign minister Antonio Tajani.
\nEarlier this week, Meloni said pulling US troops out of Italy was “a decision that does not depend on me and one that I personally do not agree with”.
\nHer office said the talks with Rubio were “broad and constructive” but also “frank”, covering bilateral relations, the Middle East, Libya and Ukraine.
\n“It was a frank dialogue between allies defending their own national interests but both recognising the value of Western unity,” the statement said.
\nIn an interview with an Italian newspaper last month, Trump said he was “shocked” at Meloni’s attitude, saying: “I thought she had courage, but I was wrong.”
\n‘Share points of view’
\nRubio, a devout Catholic, said on Friday that his meeting the previous day with Pope Leo XIV, the first US pope, was “very good”.
\nTrump last month accused the head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics of being “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy” after Leo made critical comments about the Middle East war.
\nRubio said they discussed topics of common interest, including religious freedom, the threat posed by Iran, and the role of the Catholic Church in delivering American humanitarian aid to Cuba.
\n“It’s important to share our points of view and an explanation and an understanding of where we’re coming from. And I thought it was very positive,” he said.
\nRubio, who also met with Vatican secretary of state Pietro Parolin, said, “I updated them on the situation with Iran and expressed our point of view about why this is important and the danger that Iran poses to the world.”
\nThe discussions between the pope, Parolin and Rubio addressed “the need to work tirelessly for peace”, according to the Vatican.
\nAsked whether Trump would call Leo, Rubio said: “Maybe. I don’t know, I mean, it could happen.”
\nAt the Italian foreign ministry, Tajani and other officials presented Rubio with documents tracing the US diplomat’s Italian origins.
\n“It’s a true honour and a very special moment to receive all of this information,” Rubio said, adding that he was going to learn Italian.
\nThe Cuban-American, who speaks fluent Spanish, said, “The next time I’m back… I’ll give a speech ‘in Italiano’.”
\n","content_text":"ROME: US secretary of state Marco Rubio concluded a two-day visit to Rome on Friday, where he sought to ease tensions with Pope Leo and urged Europeans to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.\nThe task was not easy, given President Donald Trump's recent sharp criticism of both the Catholic leader and Italy's far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a close ally of the US leader.\n\"The world has to start asking itself, what is it willing to do if Iran tries to normalise control of an international waterway? I think that's unacceptable,\" he told reporters after meeting Meloni.\nThe appeal was aimed at Italy as well as other European countries, which Trump criticised for not helping the United States to protect the Strait.\nTehran seized control of the narrow chokepoint to the Gulf, a major transport route for oil, gas and fertiliser, after US and Israeli forces attacked Iran on Feb 28, triggering the Middle East war.\nAfter saying 5,000 troops will be withdrawn from Germany, Trump has threatened to pull US troops from Italy and Spain due to their refusal to get involved in the conflict and has questioned his country's membership in Nato.\n\"If one of the main reasons why the US is in Nato is the ability to have forces deployed in Europe that we could project to other contingencies, and now that's no longer the case, at least when it comes to some Nato members, that's a problem, and it has to be examined,\" Rubio said.\nHe added, however, that the US president had not yet decided how to reprimand these countries.\n'Frank' talks \nMeloni and Rubio met at her Palazzo Chigi office for almost 90 minutes after talks with his counterpart, foreign minister Antonio Tajani.\nEarlier this week, Meloni said pulling US troops out of Italy was \"a decision that does not depend on me and one that I personally do not agree with\".\nHer office said the talks with Rubio were \"broad and constructive\" but also \"frank\", covering bilateral relations, the Middle East, Libya and Ukraine.\n\"It was a frank dialogue between allies defending their own national interests but both recognising the value of Western unity,\" the statement said.\nIn an interview with an Italian newspaper last month, Trump said he was \"shocked\" at Meloni's attitude, saying: \"I thought she had courage, but I was wrong.\"\n'Share points of view' \nRubio, a devout Catholic, said on Friday that his meeting the previous day with Pope Leo XIV, the first US pope, was \"very good\".\nTrump last month accused the head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics of being \"weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy\" after Leo made critical comments about the Middle East war.\nRubio said they discussed topics of common interest, including religious freedom, the threat posed by Iran, and the role of the Catholic Church in delivering American humanitarian aid to Cuba.\n\"It's important to share our points of view and an explanation and an understanding of where we're coming from. And I thought it was very positive,\" he said.\nRubio, who also met with Vatican secretary of state Pietro Parolin, said, \"I updated them on the situation with Iran and expressed our point of view about why this is important and the danger that Iran poses to the world.\"\nThe discussions between the pope, Parolin and Rubio addressed \"the need to work tirelessly for peace\", according to the Vatican.\nAsked whether Trump would call Leo, Rubio said: \"Maybe. I don't know, I mean, it could happen.\"\nAt the Italian foreign ministry, Tajani and other officials presented Rubio with documents tracing the US diplomat's Italian origins.\n\"It's a true honour and a very special moment to receive all of this information,\" Rubio said, adding that he was going to learn Italian.\nThe Cuban-American, who speaks fluent Spanish, said, \"The next time I'm back... I'll give a speech 'in Italiano'.\"","date_published":"2026-05-08T15:42:30.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","Giorgia Meloni","Iran conflict","marco rubio","Nato tensions","Pope Leo XIV","Rome diplomacy","Strait of Hormuz","US foreign policy","US Italy relations","Vatican meeting"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/badf5531-marco-rubio-08052026.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/badf5531-marco-rubio-08052026.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/us-says-opened-fire-to-disable-2-iran-flagged-ships-violating-port-blockade","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/us-says-opened-fire-to-disable-2-iran-flagged-ships-violating-port-blockade","title":"US says opened fire to disable 2 Iran-flagged ships violating port blockade","summary":"Washington has now forcibly halted four ships it said were attempting to violate the blockade, which has been in place since April 13.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4bce9e1a-us-centcom.jpg\")
WASHINGTON: US forces fired on and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that attempted to violate the American blockade of Iran’s ports on Friday, the US military said.
\nWashington has now forcibly halted four ships it said were attempting to violate the blockade, which has been in place since April 13.
\nA US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet disabled the M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda by “firing precision munitions into their smokestacks, preventing the non-compliant ships from entering Iran”, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that included footage of the strikes on the two vessels.
\nOn Wednesday, an F/A-18 disabled another Iranian-flagged ship – the M/T Hasna – by firing its 20mm cannon at the vessel’s rudder.
\nAnd on April 19, the Iranian-flagged M/V Touska attempted to violate the blockade and ignored multiple warnings from a US destroyer, CENTCOM said at the time.
\nThe American warship eventually directed the ship’s crew to evacuate its engine room, which it then hit with multiple rounds from its five-inch gun, disabling the vessel.
\nTehran’s forces effectively closed the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway – a key route for oil and gas shipments – after the start of the US-Israeli air campaign against Iran on Feb 28.
\nThe US announced its blockade of Iranian ports after peace talks in Pakistan failed to achieve a breakthrough last month.
\n","content_text":"WASHINGTON: US forces fired on and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that attempted to violate the American blockade of Iran's ports on Friday, the US military said.\nWashington has now forcibly halted four ships it said were attempting to violate the blockade, which has been in place since April 13.\nA US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet disabled the M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda by \"firing precision munitions into their smokestacks, preventing the non-compliant ships from entering Iran\", US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that included footage of the strikes on the two vessels.\nOn Wednesday, an F/A-18 disabled another Iranian-flagged ship – the M/T Hasna – by firing its 20mm cannon at the vessel's rudder.\nAnd on April 19, the Iranian-flagged M/V Touska attempted to violate the blockade and ignored multiple warnings from a US destroyer, CENTCOM said at the time.\nThe American warship eventually directed the ship's crew to evacuate its engine room, which it then hit with multiple rounds from its five-inch gun, disabling the vessel.\nTehran's forces effectively closed the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway – a key route for oil and gas shipments – after the start of the US-Israeli air campaign against Iran on Feb 28.\nThe US announced its blockade of Iranian ports after peace talks in Pakistan failed to achieve a breakthrough last month.","date_published":"2026-05-08T15:19:50.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","CENTCOM strikes","Energy route crisis","Iranian tankers","Maritime security","Middle East conflict","naval operations","Oil shipping disruption","Strait of Hormuz","US Iran blockade","US Navy attacks"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4bce9e1a-us-centcom.jpg","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/4bce9e1a-us-centcom.jpg"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/us-expecting-irans-response-on-deal-despite-naval-clash","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/us-expecting-irans-response-on-deal-despite-naval-clash","title":"US expecting Iran’s response on deal despite naval clash","summary":"Iran’s foreign ministry said the proposal is still being reviewed and a formal announcement will be made once a final decision is reached.","content_html":"![\"Iran](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/af9ed6c6-iran-us-talks.jpg\")
TEHRAN: The US was awaiting Iran’s response to its latest proposed peace deal on Friday, after both sides accused the other of triggering an overnight clash that rattled markets and revived fears of a return to fighting.
\nSecretary of state Marco Rubio said Iran must not control the Strait of Hormuz, where the flare-up took place, but Saudi sources told AFP the kingdom had refused to allow the US military to use its airspace or bases for an operation to force open a passage for commercial shipping.
\n“Iran now claims that they own, that they have a right to control, an international waterway… That’s an unacceptable thing that they’re trying to normalise,” Rubio said.
\nWashington has passed Iran, via Pakistani mediators, a proposal to extend the truce in the Gulf to allow talks on a final settlement of the conflict launched 10 weeks ago with US-Israeli strikes on Tehran.
\n“We’re expecting a response from them today at some point… I hope it’s a serious offer, I really do,” Rubio said.
\nIran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Friday that the proposal was still “under review, and once a final decision is reached, it will certainly be announced”, according to the ISNA news agency.
\n‘They trifled with us’
\nThe night before, US Central Command said Iran had launched missiles, drones and small boats at three US warships transiting the Hormuz but that none were hit and American forces had destroyed the incoming threats and retaliated against land bases in Iran.
\nIran’s central military command, Khatam al-Anbiya, countered that the clash had erupted when US vessels targeted an Iranian tanker heading towards the Strait of Hormuz and accused its foe of hitting civilian areas.
\nThe strikes hit Bandar Khamir and Sirik – cities on the Iranian side of the strait – as well as Qeshm island, it said, alleging that the attack was carried out with the cooperation of “some regional countries”.
\nBaqaei accused the US of a “blatant violation of international law and a breach of the ceasefire”, but said Iranian forces had “delivered a ‘major slap’ to the enemy”.
\nBut asked in Washington on Thursday if the ceasefire with Iran was still in effect after the clash, US President Donald Trump said, “Yeah, it is. They trifled with us today. We blew them away.”
\nIran did not name the regional US allies it accused of cooperating, though the UAE said it had been forced to intercept a volley of Iranian drones and missiles.
\n“The UAE air defence systems engaged two ballistic missiles and three UAVs launched from Iran, resulting in three moderate injuries,” the Emirates’ defence ministry posted on X.
\nFollowing the start of the war on Feb 28, Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, with the US later imposing its own blockade of Iranian ports.
\nOn Sunday, Trump announced “Project Freedom”, a US naval operation designed to reopen the strait to commercial shipping, only to abandon it on Tuesday in favour of a return to negotiations.
\nOn Friday, two Saudi sources told AFP – confirming US media reports – that the kingdom had refused permission for the US military to use its bases and airspace for the Hormuz operation.
\n“Saudi Arabia was against the operation because it felt it would just escalate the situation and would not work,” one of them told AFP.
\n‘System of sovereignty’
\nThis week Tehran created an authority to approve transit through the Strait of Hormuz and to collect tolls from vessels, according to leading shipping industry journal Lloyd’s List.
\nOn Tuesday, Iran’s English-speaking broadcaster Press TV said that Iran had built a “system to exercise sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz” and that ships passing through the strait were sent “regulations” by email.
\nAround 1,500 ships and 20,000 international crews are now trapped in the Gulf region because of the conflict, according to the UN International Maritime Organization.
\nUS Central Command said Friday that its forces are preventing 70 tankers from entering or leaving Iranian ports.
\nWorld markets had perked up and oil prices fell this week on hopes that the Pakistani-mediated peace process would prolong the US-Iran ceasefire that began on April 8 and lead to a negotiated accord to end the conflict.
\nBut stock markets sank again on Friday after the exchange in Hormuz, which fuelled fears that renewed fighting could delay or derail the reopening of the key maritime trade route.
\n","content_text":"TEHRAN: The US was awaiting Iran's response to its latest proposed peace deal on Friday, after both sides accused the other of triggering an overnight clash that rattled markets and revived fears of a return to fighting.\nSecretary of state Marco Rubio said Iran must not control the Strait of Hormuz, where the flare-up took place, but Saudi sources told AFP the kingdom had refused to allow the US military to use its airspace or bases for an operation to force open a passage for commercial shipping.\n\"Iran now claims that they own, that they have a right to control, an international waterway... That's an unacceptable thing that they're trying to normalise,\" Rubio said.\nWashington has passed Iran, via Pakistani mediators, a proposal to extend the truce in the Gulf to allow talks on a final settlement of the conflict launched 10 weeks ago with US-Israeli strikes on Tehran.\n\"We're expecting a response from them today at some point... I hope it's a serious offer, I really do,\" Rubio said.\nIran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Friday that the proposal was still \"under review, and once a final decision is reached, it will certainly be announced\", according to the ISNA news agency.\n'They trifled with us'\nThe night before, US Central Command said Iran had launched missiles, drones and small boats at three US warships transiting the Hormuz but that none were hit and American forces had destroyed the incoming threats and retaliated against land bases in Iran.\nIran's central military command, Khatam al-Anbiya, countered that the clash had erupted when US vessels targeted an Iranian tanker heading towards the Strait of Hormuz and accused its foe of hitting civilian areas.\nThe strikes hit Bandar Khamir and Sirik – cities on the Iranian side of the strait – as well as Qeshm island, it said, alleging that the attack was carried out with the cooperation of \"some regional countries\".\nBaqaei accused the US of a \"blatant violation of international law and a breach of the ceasefire\", but said Iranian forces had \"delivered a 'major slap' to the enemy\".\nBut asked in Washington on Thursday if the ceasefire with Iran was still in effect after the clash, US President Donald Trump said, \"Yeah, it is. They trifled with us today. We blew them away.\"\nIran did not name the regional US allies it accused of cooperating, though the UAE said it had been forced to intercept a volley of Iranian drones and missiles.\n\"The UAE air defence systems engaged two ballistic missiles and three UAVs launched from Iran, resulting in three moderate injuries,\" the Emirates' defence ministry posted on X.\nFollowing the start of the war on Feb 28, Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, with the US later imposing its own blockade of Iranian ports.\nOn Sunday, Trump announced \"Project Freedom\", a US naval operation designed to reopen the strait to commercial shipping, only to abandon it on Tuesday in favour of a return to negotiations.\nOn Friday, two Saudi sources told AFP – confirming US media reports – that the kingdom had refused permission for the US military to use its bases and airspace for the Hormuz operation.\n\"Saudi Arabia was against the operation because it felt it would just escalate the situation and would not work,\" one of them told AFP.\n'System of sovereignty'\nThis week Tehran created an authority to approve transit through the Strait of Hormuz and to collect tolls from vessels, according to leading shipping industry journal Lloyd's List.\nOn Tuesday, Iran's English-speaking broadcaster Press TV said that Iran had built a \"system to exercise sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz\" and that ships passing through the strait were sent \"regulations\" by email.\nAround 1,500 ships and 20,000 international crews are now trapped in the Gulf region because of the conflict, according to the UN International Maritime Organization.\nUS Central Command said Friday that its forces are preventing 70 tankers from entering or leaving Iranian ports.\nWorld markets had perked up and oil prices fell this week on hopes that the Pakistani-mediated peace process would prolong the US-Iran ceasefire that began on April 8 and lead to a negotiated accord to end the conflict.\nBut stock markets sank again on Friday after the exchange in Hormuz, which fuelled fears that renewed fighting could delay or derail the reopening of the key maritime trade route.","date_published":"2026-05-08T14:48:09.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","ceasefire tensions","Gulf conflict","marco rubio","maritime blockade","Middle East war","Oil shipping route","Saudi Arabia stance","Strait of Hormuz","US Central Command","US Iran talks"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/af9ed6c6-iran-us-talks.jpg","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/af9ed6c6-iran-us-talks.jpg"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/pentagon-releases-previously-secret-files-on-ufos","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/pentagon-releases-previously-secret-files-on-ufos","title":"Pentagon releases previously secret files on UFOs","summary":"Defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the classified files have long fuelled speculation and should be revealed to the public.","content_html":"![\"Pentagon-AFP\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/33a77458-pentagon-afp.webp\")
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon on Friday released a first batch of previously secret files documenting reported sightings of unidentified flying objects – some as far back as the 1940s – a move sought for decades by some Americans.
\n“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fuelled justified speculation – and it’s time the American people see it for themselves,” defense secretary Pete Hegseth said in a statement.
\nMore than 160 files were released Friday on the website of the defense department, which officially refers to UFOs as “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena”, or UAPs.
\nOne file – from December 1947 – contains a series of reports on “flying discs”.
\nAn Air Force intelligence report – marked “top secret” – from November of the following year features information on reported sightings of “unidentified aircraft” and “flying saucers”.
\nAnd another file documents a 2023 incident in which three teams of federal law enforcement special agents independently described “seeing orange ‘orbs’ in the sky emit/launch smaller red ‘orbs’.”
\nPresident Donald Trump directed US federal agencies in February to begin identifying and releasing government files related to UFOs and aliens, saying the move was “based on the tremendous interest shown”.
\nThe Republican president also claimed the same day he issued the release order that one of his Democratic predecessors, Barack Obama, had revealed “classified” information in viral podcast remarks about the existence of extraterrestrial life.
\n“They’re real, but I haven’t seen them and they’re not being kept in… Area 51,” Obama told host Brian Tyler Cohen, referring to the top-secret US military facility in Nevada at the heart of many UFO conspiracy theories.
\nTrump told reporters at the time that Obama “gave classified information, he is not supposed to be doing that,” while saying of his own beliefs: “I don’t know if they are real or not.”
\nNo evidence has been produced of intelligent life beyond Earth.
\nInterest in UFOs has been renewed in recent years as the US government probed numerous reports of seemingly supernatural aircraft, amid worries that adversaries could be testing highly advanced technologies.
\nIn March 2024, the Pentagon released a report saying it had no proof that UAP were alien technology, with many suspicious sightings turning out to be merely weather balloons, spy planes, satellites and other normal activity.
\n","content_text":"WASHINGTON: The Pentagon on Friday released a first batch of previously secret files documenting reported sightings of unidentified flying objects – some as far back as the 1940s – a move sought for decades by some Americans.\n\"These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fuelled justified speculation – and it's time the American people see it for themselves,\" defense secretary Pete Hegseth said in a statement.\nMore than 160 files were released Friday on the website of the defense department, which officially refers to UFOs as \"Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena\", or UAPs.\nOne file – from December 1947 – contains a series of reports on \"flying discs\".\nAn Air Force intelligence report – marked \"top secret\" – from November of the following year features information on reported sightings of \"unidentified aircraft\" and \"flying saucers\".\nAnd another file documents a 2023 incident in which three teams of federal law enforcement special agents independently described \"seeing orange 'orbs' in the sky emit/launch smaller red 'orbs'.\"\nPresident Donald Trump directed US federal agencies in February to begin identifying and releasing government files related to UFOs and aliens, saying the move was \"based on the tremendous interest shown\".\nThe Republican president also claimed the same day he issued the release order that one of his Democratic predecessors, Barack Obama, had revealed \"classified\" information in viral podcast remarks about the existence of extraterrestrial life.\n\"They're real, but I haven't seen them and they're not being kept in... Area 51,\" Obama told host Brian Tyler Cohen, referring to the top-secret US military facility in Nevada at the heart of many UFO conspiracy theories.\nTrump told reporters at the time that Obama \"gave classified information, he is not supposed to be doing that,\" while saying of his own beliefs: \"I don't know if they are real or not.\"\nNo evidence has been produced of intelligent life beyond Earth.\nInterest in UFOs has been renewed in recent years as the US government probed numerous reports of seemingly supernatural aircraft, amid worries that adversaries could be testing highly advanced technologies.\nIn March 2024, the Pentagon released a report saying it had no proof that UAP were alien technology, with many suspicious sightings turning out to be merely weather balloons, spy planes, satellites and other normal activity.","date_published":"2026-05-08T14:29:49.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","1940s sightings","Alien speculation","Area 51","Flying saucers","Government disclosure","Pentagon release","Pete Hegseth","UFO files","Unidentified aerial phenomena","US Defense Department"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/33a77458-pentagon-afp.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/33a77458-pentagon-afp.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/poland-signs-e44bil-eu-defence-loan-deal-to-modernise-military","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/poland-signs-e44bil-eu-defence-loan-deal-to-modernise-military","title":"Poland signs €44bil EU defence loan deal to modernise military","summary":"Europe’s SAFE scheme makes €150 billion available for defence investments and critical infrastructure projects.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/3e009320-donald-tusk-08052026.webp\")
WARSAW: Poland on Friday became the first country to sign a loan agreement with the European Commission to fund the modernisation of its military and arms industry, under which it will receive nearly €44 billion (US$52 billion).
\n“This is a watershed moment in the history of both Poland and the EU,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at a ceremony for the signing of the agreement.
\n“Poland will be safer in these difficult and highly risky times,” he added.
\nThe billions in funding will go to the most populated country on Nato’s eastern flank and the alliance’s largest spender in relative terms, allocating 4.8% of its GDP to defence.
\nThe Security Action For Europe (SAFE) scheme makes some €150 billion available in the form of preferential loans to finance joint projects in defence, the purchase of weapons or ammunition, and the development of critical infrastructure.
\nPoland, which is receiving €43.7 billion, is by far the greatest beneficiary of the programme, which was developed for European countries seeking to reinvigorate their defence industry to face the threat from Russia and the risk of US disengagement.
\n“This is also the day when Europe … is showing that it has learned a lesson from history and that it is ready … to shoulder a much greater responsibility for our security,” Tusk added.
\nThe agreement was signed by the Polish finance and defence ministers, as well as EU budget commissioner Piotr Serafin and defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius.
\nAs Poland borders Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, it has been building part of the EU’s and Nato’s “eastern shield”.
\nOvercame opposition
\nFriday’s signing put an end to months of political debates in Warsaw pitting the pro-European government against the right-wing nationalist opposition and president Karol Nawrocki.
\nIn March, Nawrocki vetoed a government measure allocating SAFE funds, leading Tusk’s government to ensure SAFE funding made its way to Poland under more complex arrangements.
\nHostile to Brussels, Nawrocki and the opposition argued that SAFE would alienate a key Polish ally in Washington by prioritising European arms purchases at the expense of US suppliers and make Poland dependent on Germany and the EU.
\nRather than back the SAFE proposal, Nawrocki insisted on his own alternative, “SAFE 0%”, drawn up with right-wing ally central bank governor Adam Glapinski.
\nDescribed as a “sovereign” alternative to the European loans, the programme would instead use central bank funds. Tusk’s government labelled the initiative “unrealistic” as the central bank faces financial losses.
\n","content_text":"WARSAW: Poland on Friday became the first country to sign a loan agreement with the European Commission to fund the modernisation of its military and arms industry, under which it will receive nearly €44 billion (US$52 billion).\n\"This is a watershed moment in the history of both Poland and the EU,\" Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at a ceremony for the signing of the agreement.\n\"Poland will be safer in these difficult and highly risky times,\" he added.\nThe billions in funding will go to the most populated country on Nato's eastern flank and the alliance's largest spender in relative terms, allocating 4.8% of its GDP to defence.\nThe Security Action For Europe (SAFE) scheme makes some €150 billion available in the form of preferential loans to finance joint projects in defence, the purchase of weapons or ammunition, and the development of critical infrastructure.\nPoland, which is receiving €43.7 billion, is by far the greatest beneficiary of the programme, which was developed for European countries seeking to reinvigorate their defence industry to face the threat from Russia and the risk of US disengagement.\n\"This is also the day when Europe ... is showing that it has learned a lesson from history and that it is ready ... to shoulder a much greater responsibility for our security,\" Tusk added.\nThe agreement was signed by the Polish finance and defence ministers, as well as EU budget commissioner Piotr Serafin and defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius.\nAs Poland borders Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, it has been building part of the EU's and Nato's \"eastern shield\".\nOvercame opposition \nFriday's signing put an end to months of political debates in Warsaw pitting the pro-European government against the right-wing nationalist opposition and president Karol Nawrocki.\nIn March, Nawrocki vetoed a government measure allocating SAFE funds, leading Tusk's government to ensure SAFE funding made its way to Poland under more complex arrangements.\nHostile to Brussels, Nawrocki and the opposition argued that SAFE would alienate a key Polish ally in Washington by prioritising European arms purchases at the expense of US suppliers and make Poland dependent on Germany and the EU.\nRather than back the SAFE proposal, Nawrocki insisted on his own alternative, \"SAFE 0%\", drawn up with right-wing ally central bank governor Adam Glapinski.\nDescribed as a \"sovereign\" alternative to the European loans, the programme would instead use central bank funds. Tusk's government labelled the initiative \"unrealistic\" as the central bank faces financial losses.","date_published":"2026-05-08T13:40:35.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","arms industry","Donald Tusk","EU military fund","EU security","European defence","military modernisation","NATO spending","Poland defence","Russia threat","SAFE scheme"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/3e009320-donald-tusk-08052026.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/3e009320-donald-tusk-08052026.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/saudi-bases-open-to-us-despite-hormuz-operation-disagreement","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/saudi-bases-open-to-us-despite-hormuz-operation-disagreement","title":"Saudi bases open to US despite Hormuz operation disagreement","summary":"Saudi Arabia reportedly blocked US operational access for the strike but still permits other military use of its facilities.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/50c59df3-us-iran-war.jpg\")
RIYADH: US forces have access to Saudi airspace and bases despite being told not to use them for the now suspended operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, two Saudi sources told AFP on Friday.
\nEarlier this week, US President Donald Trump announced a pause in the two-day-old “Project Freedom” to guide ships through the Strait, after a flare-up with Iran strained a fragile ceasefire.
\nUS media reports on Thursday said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto Saudi leader, talked directly to Trump and refused to let US forces use Saudi airspace and bases for the operation.
\nHowever, two informed Saudi sources on Friday said US access to Saudi airspace and bases continues for other uses.
\n“Saudi Arabia was against the operation because it felt it would just escalate the situation and would not work,” one of them told AFP.
\nOn Friday morning, Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister for public diplomacy Rayed Krimly said the kingdom “maintains its position supporting de-escalation and negotiation efforts” in a post on social media.
\nThe comments came as US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was still in place despite an Iranian attack on three American destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz.
\nThe US military said it carried out strikes on Iranian military targets in response, although Tehran charged that it was Washington that had initiated the exchange of fire.
\n","content_text":"RIYADH: US forces have access to Saudi airspace and bases despite being told not to use them for the now suspended operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, two Saudi sources told AFP on Friday.\nEarlier this week, US President Donald Trump announced a pause in the two-day-old \"Project Freedom\" to guide ships through the Strait, after a flare-up with Iran strained a fragile ceasefire.\nUS media reports on Thursday said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto Saudi leader, talked directly to Trump and refused to let US forces use Saudi airspace and bases for the operation.\nHowever, two informed Saudi sources on Friday said US access to Saudi airspace and bases continues for other uses.\n\"Saudi Arabia was against the operation because it felt it would just escalate the situation and would not work,\" one of them told AFP.\nOn Friday morning, Saudi Arabia's deputy minister for public diplomacy Rayed Krimly said the kingdom \"maintains its position supporting de-escalation and negotiation efforts\" in a post on social media.\nThe comments came as US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was still in place despite an Iranian attack on three American destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz.\nThe US military said it carried out strikes on Iranian military targets in response, although Tehran charged that it was Washington that had initiated the exchange of fire.","date_published":"2026-05-08T13:23:11.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","ceasefire talks","Donald Trump","gulf security","Middle East conflict","Mohammed bin Salman","naval operation","Saudi airspace","Saudi Arabia","Strait Hormuz","US-Iran tensions"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/50c59df3-us-iran-war.jpg","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/50c59df3-us-iran-war.jpg"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/myanmar-discovers-massive-11000-carat-ruby","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/myanmar-discovers-massive-11000-carat-ruby","title":"Myanmar discovers massive 11,000-carat ruby","summary":"The government said the ruby, which was unearthed in the Mogok area, was 'exceptionally large, rare and difficult to find'.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1f851f90-myanmar-ruby-08052026.webp\")
YANGON: A huge 11,000-carat ruby has been discovered in Myanmar, state media reported Friday, one of the largest ever found in the country renowned for its precious gemstones.
\nCoup leader turned president Min Aung Hlaing was pictured on the front page of the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper, examining the 2.2km (4.8-pound) rock at his office.
\nUnearthed in the Mogok area, the ruby was “exceptionally large, rare, and difficult to find”, the new military-backed government said in a statement.
\n“The giant ruby has a purplish-red colour with yellowish undertones and is considered to have a high-quality colour grade,” it added.
\nWhile smaller than a similar 21,450-carat ruby found in the same area in 1996, the recently discovered stone is more valuable “due to its superior colour, clarity, and overall quality”, the government said without giving a precise value.
\nEmperors, kings and warlords have long fought over the valley of Mogok in the Mandalay region, where the unique “pigeon-blood” stones lie hidden.
\nThe Mogok rubies are the most expensive in the world, with the highest-quality jewels fetching multi-million-dollar prices in an industry notoriously bereft of regulation.
\nMyanmar has been ruled by a junta since a 2021 coup that triggered a civil war, but former military chief Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in last month as civilian president after a tightly restricted election.
\n","content_text":"YANGON: A huge 11,000-carat ruby has been discovered in Myanmar, state media reported Friday, one of the largest ever found in the country renowned for its precious gemstones.\nCoup leader turned president Min Aung Hlaing was pictured on the front page of the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper, examining the 2.2km (4.8-pound) rock at his office.\nUnearthed in the Mogok area, the ruby was \"exceptionally large, rare, and difficult to find\", the new military-backed government said in a statement.\n\"The giant ruby has a purplish-red colour with yellowish undertones and is considered to have a high-quality colour grade,\" it added.\nWhile smaller than a similar 21,450-carat ruby found in the same area in 1996, the recently discovered stone is more valuable \"due to its superior colour, clarity, and overall quality\", the government said without giving a precise value.\nEmperors, kings and warlords have long fought over the valley of Mogok in the Mandalay region, where the unique \"pigeon-blood\" stones lie hidden.\nThe Mogok rubies are the most expensive in the world, with the highest-quality jewels fetching multi-million-dollar prices in an industry notoriously bereft of regulation.\nMyanmar has been ruled by a junta since a 2021 coup that triggered a civil war, but former military chief Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in last month as civilian president after a tightly restricted election.","date_published":"2026-05-08T11:56:46.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["South East Asia","World","Top World","Civil war Myanmar","Gem mining","Min Aung Hlaing","Mogok gemstones","Myanmar junta","Myanmar ruby","Pigeon blood ruby","precious stones","Rare gemstones"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1f851f90-myanmar-ruby-08052026.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1f851f90-myanmar-ruby-08052026.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/iran-says-redirects-us-sanctioned-oil-tanker-to-its-shores","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/iran-says-redirects-us-sanctioned-oil-tanker-to-its-shores","title":"Iran says redirects US-sanctioned oil tanker to its shores","summary":"The army said the ship was redirected to Iran's southern shores after it sought 'to damage and disrupt Iran's oil exports'.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/9e290a18-hormuz-tanker-us-navy-08052026.webp\")
TEHRAN: Iran said on Friday it redirected a US-sanctioned oil tanker carrying Iranian oil back to its shores, though it was unclear from its statement why it had been targeted.
\n“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s navy, through a specially planned operation in the Sea of Oman, seized the offending tanker Ocean Koi,” the army said in a statement carried by state television, adding that the oil belonged to the “Islamic republic”.
\nIt said the ship was redirected to Iran’s southern shores after it sought “to damage and disrupt Iran’s oil exports”, without elaborating.
\nIn February, the US treasury department placed sanctions on the Barbados-flagged tanker, which it said has since 2020 been part of Iran’s so-called “shadow fleet” – a network of vessels used to transport oil while evading sanctions.
\nThe tanker “has transported millions of barrels of Iranian high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) and condensate since May 2025”, it added.
\nIranian state television released a video of what it called a “seizure” of the tanker, showing Iranian forces following the vessel at night in small boats and boarding it using a ladder, before it was redirected back to Iranian shores.
\nThe army said the tanker was handed “to judicial authorities” upon its return to the country’s shores.
\n","content_text":"TEHRAN: Iran said on Friday it redirected a US-sanctioned oil tanker carrying Iranian oil back to its shores, though it was unclear from its statement why it had been targeted.\n\"The Islamic Republic of Iran's navy, through a specially planned operation in the Sea of Oman, seized the offending tanker Ocean Koi,\" the army said in a statement carried by state television, adding that the oil belonged to the \"Islamic republic\".\nIt said the ship was redirected to Iran's southern shores after it sought \"to damage and disrupt Iran's oil exports\", without elaborating.\nIn February, the US treasury department placed sanctions on the Barbados-flagged tanker, which it said has since 2020 been part of Iran's so-called \"shadow fleet\" – a network of vessels used to transport oil while evading sanctions.\nThe tanker \"has transported millions of barrels of Iranian high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) and condensate since May 2025\", it added.\nIranian state television released a video of what it called a \"seizure\" of the tanker, showing Iranian forces following the vessel at night in small boats and boarding it using a ladder, before it was redirected back to Iranian shores.\nThe army said the tanker was handed \"to judicial authorities\" upon its return to the country's shores.","date_published":"2026-05-08T11:27:37.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","fuel exports","Iran Oil tanker","maritime dispute","naval operation","Ocean Koi","Oil seizure","sanctions evasion","Sea of Oman","shadow fleet","US sanctions"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/9e290a18-hormuz-tanker-us-navy-08052026.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/9e290a18-hormuz-tanker-us-navy-08052026.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/indonesia-detains-over-200-foreigners-over-trading-scam","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/indonesia-detains-over-200-foreigners-over-trading-scam","title":"Indonesia detains over 200 foreigners over trading scam","summary":"Immigration officers raided an apartment building in Batam on Wednesday, where they also seized hundreds of computers and cellphones.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/60004d71-hendarsam-marantoko-indonesia-immigration-chief-08052026.webp\")
BATAM: Indonesian authorities said on Friday they had arrested more than 200 foreign nationals near the island of Sumatra this week for allegedly running an investment scamming ring.
\nImmigration officers raided an apartment building in Batam, in Riau Islands Province, on Wednesday, where they found 210 foreigners and seized hundreds of computers and cellphones.
\nThey arrested 125 Vietnamese nationals, 84 Chinese, and one person from Myanmar, immigration boss Hendarsam Marantoko told reporters in Batam.
\nThose arrested included 47 women.
\nAn examination of the seized computers and cellphones suggested the group was engaged in online investment fraud or scam trading, said Yuldi Yusman, another official at the Indonesian immigration office.
\n“The victims were mostly located in Europe and Vietnam,” he said.
\nThe suspects are being held at an immigration detention centre and face deportation and a ban from Indonesia, Yuldi said.
\nIndonesian police previously said that many scammers have moved to the country and elsewhere in Southeast Asia after a Chinese crackdown on networks there.
\nIndonesian police arrested 85 Chinese nationals and six Indonesians in 2019 over an online scam that tricked victims out of millions of dollars.
\nThey arrested another 88 Chinese nationals in 2023, also in Batam, for running a syndicate that blackmailed hundreds of Chinese victims after luring them into sex acts that were videotaped.
\nUntung Widyatmoko, secretary of Interpol’s Indonesia bureau, told the news conference that Indonesia has become a favoured destination of scammers from Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.
\n“We do not want our country, Indonesia, to become a safe haven for these scammers,” he said, vowing a crackdown.
\n","content_text":"BATAM: Indonesian authorities said on Friday they had arrested more than 200 foreign nationals near the island of Sumatra this week for allegedly running an investment scamming ring.\nImmigration officers raided an apartment building in Batam, in Riau Islands Province, on Wednesday, where they found 210 foreigners and seized hundreds of computers and cellphones.\nThey arrested 125 Vietnamese nationals, 84 Chinese, and one person from Myanmar, immigration boss Hendarsam Marantoko told reporters in Batam.\nThose arrested included 47 women.\nAn examination of the seized computers and cellphones suggested the group was engaged in online investment fraud or scam trading, said Yuldi Yusman, another official at the Indonesian immigration office.\n\"The victims were mostly located in Europe and Vietnam,\" he said.\nThe suspects are being held at an immigration detention centre and face deportation and a ban from Indonesia, Yuldi said.\nIndonesian police previously said that many scammers have moved to the country and elsewhere in Southeast Asia after a Chinese crackdown on networks there.\nIndonesian police arrested 85 Chinese nationals and six Indonesians in 2019 over an online scam that tricked victims out of millions of dollars.\nThey arrested another 88 Chinese nationals in 2023, also in Batam, for running a syndicate that blackmailed hundreds of Chinese victims after luring them into sex acts that were videotaped.\nUntung Widyatmoko, secretary of Interpol’s Indonesia bureau, told the news conference that Indonesia has become a favoured destination of scammers from Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.\n\"We do not want our country, Indonesia, to become a safe haven for these scammers,\" he said, vowing a crackdown.","date_published":"2026-05-08T11:07:45.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["South East Asia","World","Top World","Batam raid","Computer seizure","Cybercrime Southeast Asia","foreign nationals","immigration enforcement","Indonesia scam arrest","Interpol Indonesia","Investment fraud ring","Online scam network","Scam syndicate"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/60004d71-hendarsam-marantoko-indonesia-immigration-chief-08052026.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/60004d71-hendarsam-marantoko-indonesia-immigration-chief-08052026.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/hantavirus-outbreak-risk-to-public-absolutely-low-says-who","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/hantavirus-outbreak-risk-to-public-absolutely-low-says-who","title":"Hantavirus outbreak risk to public ‘absolutely low’, says WHO","summary":"WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said some close contacts on MV Hondius have not all become infected, suggesting limited transmission.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/68137951-who-hq-03022026.webp\")
GENEVA: The World Health Organization said Friday the risk to the public of a deadly hantavirus strain in a cruise ship outbreak was minimal, as it spreads only through “very close contact”.
\nAn outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship, which is heading to the Spanish island of Tenerife, has sparked international concern.
\nThree passengers on the ship have died, while in the latest update from the WHO, there have been five confirmed and three suspected cases in total.
\n“This is a dangerous virus, but only to the person who’s really infected, and the risk to the general population remains absolutely low,” WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told a press briefing in Geneva.
\nHe pointed out that even people who had stayed in the same cabin as an infected person on the MV Hondius “don’t seem to be infected in some cases”.
\nThe spokesman insisted that the disease was “not spreading anything close to how Covid was spreading”.
\n“The contact tracing is effective because it traces those who have been in close contact,” he said.
\nThe ship left Ushuaia on the southern tip of Argentina on April 1 for a cruise across the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Verde, stopping at several remote islands along the way.
\n","content_text":"GENEVA: The World Health Organization said Friday the risk to the public of a deadly hantavirus strain in a cruise ship outbreak was minimal, as it spreads only through \"very close contact\".\nAn outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship, which is heading to the Spanish island of Tenerife, has sparked international concern.\nThree passengers on the ship have died, while in the latest update from the WHO, there have been five confirmed and three suspected cases in total.\n\"This is a dangerous virus, but only to the person who's really infected, and the risk to the general population remains absolutely low,\" WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told a press briefing in Geneva.\nHe pointed out that even people who had stayed in the same cabin as an infected person on the MV Hondius \"don't seem to be infected in some cases\".\nThe spokesman insisted that the disease was \"not spreading anything close to how Covid was spreading\".\n\"The contact tracing is effective because it traces those who have been in close contact,\" he said.\nThe ship left Ushuaia on the southern tip of Argentina on April 1 for a cruise across the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Verde, stopping at several remote islands along the way.","date_published":"2026-05-08T10:21:30.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","contact tracing","Cruise passengers","Cruise ship MV Hondius","Disease containment","hantavirus outbreak","Infectious disease risk","public health","Tenerife arrival","Virus transmission","WHO statement"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/68137951-who-hq-03022026.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/68137951-who-hq-03022026.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/forest-fire-burns-through-chernobyl-exclusion-zone-after-drone-crash","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/forest-fire-burns-through-chernobyl-exclusion-zone-after-drone-crash","title":"Forest fire burns through Chernobyl exclusion zone after drone crash","summary":"Authorities reported that radiation levels at the site were within 'normal limits' and added that firefighters were working to contain the blaze.","content_html":"![\"Chernobyl\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/f5a278ca-chernobyl-1.jpg\")
KYIV: A large forest fire was burning through the Chernobyl exclusion zone on Friday following a drone crash near the defunct nuclear plant the previous day, Ukrainian authorities said.
\nRadiation levels at the site were within “normal limits”, authorities reported, adding that firefighters were working to contain the blaze.
\nAn image published by Ukraine’s state emergency service showed a large column of white smoke billowing into the sky from the area, parts of which are closed off to the public due to high levels of radioactivity.
\nThe site surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear plant has been largely deserted since 1986, when the plant suffered a catastrophic meltdown.
\n“As of 10am (0700 GMT) on May 8, the approximate area of the fire was about 1,100 hectares (11 square km),” the Chernobyl nature reserve, which manages the site of the 1986 disaster, said.
\nThe fire broke out on Thursday “as a result of a drone crash”, it said.
\nIt did not say the origin of the drone.
\nKyiv has repeatedly accused Moscow of recklessly attacking its nuclear sites, including the Chernobyl complex.
\nA Russian drone last year punctured a hole in one of the radiation shells covering the reactor unit that exploded in the 1986 disaster.
\nUkraine’s state emergency service said rescuers were working to prevent the further spread of the fire.
\n“Due to strong gusts of wind, the fire is rapidly spreading across the territory, covering new sections of the forest,” it said.
\n“The situation is complicated by dry weather, strong winds and mine danger in certain areas of the territory, which significantly limits the possibility of extinguishing work.”
\nThe exclusion zone suffered wildfires in 2020, which lasted several weeks and caused a spike in background radiation.
\nUkraine, only last month, marked 40 years since the disaster.
\n","content_text":"KYIV: A large forest fire was burning through the Chernobyl exclusion zone on Friday following a drone crash near the defunct nuclear plant the previous day, Ukrainian authorities said.\nRadiation levels at the site were within \"normal limits\", authorities reported, adding that firefighters were working to contain the blaze.\nAn image published by Ukraine's state emergency service showed a large column of white smoke billowing into the sky from the area, parts of which are closed off to the public due to high levels of radioactivity.\nThe site surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear plant has been largely deserted since 1986, when the plant suffered a catastrophic meltdown.\n\"As of 10am (0700 GMT) on May 8, the approximate area of the fire was about 1,100 hectares (11 square km),\" the Chernobyl nature reserve, which manages the site of the 1986 disaster, said.\nThe fire broke out on Thursday \"as a result of a drone crash\", it said.\nIt did not say the origin of the drone.\nKyiv has repeatedly accused Moscow of recklessly attacking its nuclear sites, including the Chernobyl complex.\nA Russian drone last year punctured a hole in one of the radiation shells covering the reactor unit that exploded in the 1986 disaster.\nUkraine's state emergency service said rescuers were working to prevent the further spread of the fire.\n\"Due to strong gusts of wind, the fire is rapidly spreading across the territory, covering new sections of the forest,\" it said.\n\"The situation is complicated by dry weather, strong winds and mine danger in certain areas of the territory, which significantly limits the possibility of extinguishing work.\"\nThe exclusion zone suffered wildfires in 2020, which lasted several weeks and caused a spike in background radiation.\nUkraine, only last month, marked 40 years since the disaster.","date_published":"2026-05-08T09:21:11.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","Chernobyl disaster","Chernobyl fire","drone crash","Nuclear exclusion zone","Radiation containment","radiation levels","Russia-Ukraine conflict","Ukraine emergency service","Ukraine forest fire","wildfire spread"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/f5a278ca-chernobyl-1.jpg","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/f5a278ca-chernobyl-1.jpg"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/china-denounces-uk-spy-convictions-as-political-farce","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/china-denounces-uk-spy-convictions-as-political-farce","title":"China denounces UK spy convictions as ‘political farce’","summary":"A London jury found two Chinese citizens in the UK guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service following a weeks-long trial.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/d532d827-lin-jian-14042025.webp\")
BEIJING: China denounced on Friday convictions of two men in the UK for spying on Hong Kong dissidents as a “political farce”, accusing the country of “erroneous practices”.
\nA London jury found the pair – a retired Hong Kong policeman and a former UK Border Force official – guilty on Thursday of assisting a foreign intelligence service following a weeks-long trial.
\nThe high-profile case exposed how ex-police superintendent Bill Yuen, 65, and 40-year-old Peter Wai conducted “shadow policing” operations on British soil targeting Hong Kong dissidents and exiled pro-democracy protesters.
\nAsked about the two convictions at a regular news conference, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said that “China strongly condemns and firmly opposes this.”
\n“The UK’s arrest and prosecution of Chinese citizens in the UK on groundless charges, its abuse of the law and manipulation of judicial procedures for conviction, its blatant support for anti-China and Hong Kong-destabilising elements and its unreasonable accusations and smears against China are a typical political farce,” Lin said.
\n“We urge the UK to correct its erroneous practices… and safeguard the hard-won positive momentum of China-UK relations,” he added.
\n‘Political move’
\nThe pair’s activities were exposed in May 2024 when UK police foiled an alleged bid to snatch a former Hong Kong resident from her flat in the northern county of Yorkshire, the court heard.
\nTens of thousands of Hong Kongers, including democracy activists wanted by Chinese authorities, have moved to Britain since the Asian financial hub enacted a draconian National Security Law in mid-2020.
\nBritain’s Labour government has sought to reset relations but has faced domestic opposition from some quarters.
\nAn earlier statement on Thursday by an unnamed Chinese embassy spokesperson in London said that Yuen’s conviction in particular “is nothing but a political move of abusing the law and manipulating the judicial process by the UK side”.
\nThe “sole purpose” of the decision is to “embolden those anti-China elements who are hiding in the UK and bent on destabilising Hong Kong and to smear the Chinese government,” the statement added, calling it a “so-called verdict”.
\n“We deplore (the conviction of Yuen) and have made solemn representations with the UK side,” the Chinese embassy statement said, calling on London to “immediately stop the anti-China political manipulation”.
\nThe statement warned that China will “take necessary measures to firmly safeguard (its) interests”.
\n","content_text":"BEIJING: China denounced on Friday convictions of two men in the UK for spying on Hong Kong dissidents as a \"political farce\", accusing the country of \"erroneous practices\".\nA London jury found the pair – a retired Hong Kong policeman and a former UK Border Force official – guilty on Thursday of assisting a foreign intelligence service following a weeks-long trial.\nThe high-profile case exposed how ex-police superintendent Bill Yuen, 65, and 40-year-old Peter Wai conducted \"shadow policing\" operations on British soil targeting Hong Kong dissidents and exiled pro-democracy protesters.\nAsked about the two convictions at a regular news conference, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said that \"China strongly condemns and firmly opposes this.\"\n\"The UK's arrest and prosecution of Chinese citizens in the UK on groundless charges, its abuse of the law and manipulation of judicial procedures for conviction, its blatant support for anti-China and Hong Kong-destabilising elements and its unreasonable accusations and smears against China are a typical political farce,\" Lin said.\n\"We urge the UK to correct its erroneous practices... and safeguard the hard-won positive momentum of China-UK relations,\" he added.\n'Political move'\nThe pair's activities were exposed in May 2024 when UK police foiled an alleged bid to snatch a former Hong Kong resident from her flat in the northern county of Yorkshire, the court heard.\nTens of thousands of Hong Kongers, including democracy activists wanted by Chinese authorities, have moved to Britain since the Asian financial hub enacted a draconian National Security Law in mid-2020.\nBritain's Labour government has sought to reset relations but has faced domestic opposition from some quarters.\nAn earlier statement on Thursday by an unnamed Chinese embassy spokesperson in London said that Yuen's conviction in particular \"is nothing but a political move of abusing the law and manipulating the judicial process by the UK side\".\nThe \"sole purpose\" of the decision is to \"embolden those anti-China elements who are hiding in the UK and bent on destabilising Hong Kong and to smear the Chinese government,\" the statement added, calling it a \"so-called verdict\".\n\"We deplore (the conviction of Yuen) and have made solemn representations with the UK side,\" the Chinese embassy statement said, calling on London to \"immediately stop the anti-China political manipulation\".\nThe statement warned that China will \"take necessary measures to firmly safeguard (its) interests\".","date_published":"2026-05-08T09:09:35.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","China UK relations","China UK spying case","diplomatic tensions","Embassy statement","foreign intelligence","Hong Kong dissidents","Hong Kong exiles","national security law","Political farce","Shadow policing"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/d532d827-lin-jian-14042025.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/d532d827-lin-jian-14042025.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/taiwans-parliament-approves-us25bil-defence-spending-bill","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/taiwans-parliament-approves-us25bil-defence-spending-bill","title":"Taiwan’s parliament approves US$25bil defence spending bill","summary":"The parliamentary speaker announced the bill’s passage, which falls short of the proposed US$40 billion budget.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/de7de2c3-taiwan-parliament-11022026.webp\")
TAIPEI: Taiwan’s parliament on Friday approved a US$25 billion defence spending bill that opposition lawmakers say will be used for US weapons, following months of political wrangling.
\nThe result was announced by the parliamentary speaker after a final vote on the bill, which falls well short of the government’s proposed budget of nearly US$40 billion.
\nTaiwanese lawmakers have been at loggerheads over how much to spend on improving defence capabilities against a potential attack by China, which claims the island is part of its territory and has threatened to forcibly seize it.
\nThe Kuomintang (KMT), which is Taiwan’s biggest opposition party and favours closer ties with China, as well as the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), announced Friday they would be willing to raise their defence spending proposal to T$780 billion (nearly $25 billion) for US arms only.
\nThe KMT and the TPP control Taiwan’s 113-seat parliament. Only 107 lawmakers were present for the vote, which passed with 59 in favour.
\nPresident Lai Ching-te’s government has proposed spending T$1.25 trillion on defence purchases, including US arms as well as Taiwan-made drones and other weapons.
\nThe special funds would be spread out over eight years and would be in addition to normal defence spending that is included in the government’s annual budget.
\nMonths of fighting have left the KMT deeply divided, with the party’s chairperson Cheng Li-wun – who has drawn criticism from inside and outside the KMT for being too pro-China – pushing for the allocation of T$380 billion for US weapons, with the option for more acquisitions.
\nMissiles and artillery
\nAs pressure from the US – Taiwan’s most important security backer – mounted, however, senior KMT lawmakers demanded a much higher budget than the one initially proposed by the party.
\nTaiwan’s parliament previously gave the government a green light to sign US agreements for four weapons deals, even though funding for these and other arms had not yet been approved.
\nThe weapons – M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, Javelin anti-armour missiles, TOW 2B missiles and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) – account for nearly US$9 billion of the US$11.1 billion arms package announced by Washington in December.
\nThe KMT was “willing to fully support” a second phase of arms sales worth more than US$15 billion that the defence ministry has told lawmakers would include “Patriot missiles, Hellfire (missiles), and related counter-drone defence systems”, party caucus leader Fu Kun-chi told a press conference before the vote.
\nThe vote comes days before US President Donald Trump is due to arrive in Beijing for a summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, who has warned the US against sending more weapons to Taiwan.
\nCheng recently went to China, where she met with Xi, and she has expressed hopes to travel to the US in June.
\n","content_text":"TAIPEI: Taiwan's parliament on Friday approved a US$25 billion defence spending bill that opposition lawmakers say will be used for US weapons, following months of political wrangling.\nThe result was announced by the parliamentary speaker after a final vote on the bill, which falls well short of the government's proposed budget of nearly US$40 billion.\nTaiwanese lawmakers have been at loggerheads over how much to spend on improving defence capabilities against a potential attack by China, which claims the island is part of its territory and has threatened to forcibly seize it.\nThe Kuomintang (KMT), which is Taiwan's biggest opposition party and favours closer ties with China, as well as the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), announced Friday they would be willing to raise their defence spending proposal to T$780 billion (nearly $25 billion) for US arms only.\nThe KMT and the TPP control Taiwan's 113-seat parliament. Only 107 lawmakers were present for the vote, which passed with 59 in favour.\nPresident Lai Ching-te's government has proposed spending T$1.25 trillion on defence purchases, including US arms as well as Taiwan-made drones and other weapons.\nThe special funds would be spread out over eight years and would be in addition to normal defence spending that is included in the government's annual budget.\nMonths of fighting have left the KMT deeply divided, with the party's chairperson Cheng Li-wun – who has drawn criticism from inside and outside the KMT for being too pro-China – pushing for the allocation of T$380 billion for US weapons, with the option for more acquisitions.\nMissiles and artillery\nAs pressure from the US – Taiwan's most important security backer – mounted, however, senior KMT lawmakers demanded a much higher budget than the one initially proposed by the party.\nTaiwan's parliament previously gave the government a green light to sign US agreements for four weapons deals, even though funding for these and other arms had not yet been approved.\nThe weapons – M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, Javelin anti-armour missiles, TOW 2B missiles and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) – account for nearly US$9 billion of the US$11.1 billion arms package announced by Washington in December.\nThe KMT was \"willing to fully support\" a second phase of arms sales worth more than US$15 billion that the defence ministry has told lawmakers would include \"Patriot missiles, Hellfire (missiles), and related counter-drone defence systems\", party caucus leader Fu Kun-chi told a press conference before the vote.\nThe vote comes days before US President Donald Trump is due to arrive in Beijing for a summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, who has warned the US against sending more weapons to Taiwan.\nCheng recently went to China, where she met with Xi, and she has expressed hopes to travel to the US in June.","date_published":"2026-05-08T08:36:20.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","China Tensions","cross-Strait relations","HIMARS missiles","KMT party","Lai Ching-te","military budget","patriot missiles","Taiwan defence spending","Taiwan parliament","US arms sales"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/de7de2c3-taiwan-parliament-11022026.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/de7de2c3-taiwan-parliament-11022026.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/uks-labour-suffers-early-losses-in-crunch-local-polls","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/uks-labour-suffers-early-losses-in-crunch-local-polls","title":"UK’s Labour suffers early losses in crunch local polls","summary":"By 0700 GMT, Reform gained over 350 seats while Labour lost more than 240 across the English council election results so far.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ad2b82a9-uk-polls-election-08052026.webp\")
LONDON: Britain’s ruling Labour Party suffered losses in local polls Friday, according to early results, as Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK made clear gains.
\nThe ballot is the biggest electoral test for beleaguered Prime Minister Keir Starmer, less than two years since he ousted the Conservatives following 14 years in power in a landslide election victory.
\nGrim results predicted by opinion polls appeared to be borne out in some areas first to declare.
\nBy 8.00am (0700 GMT), Reform had gained over 350 seats while Labour had lost over 240 across 40 of the 136 English councils to announce results so far.
\nThe vast majority of results will not come until later Friday in the ballot across Scotland, England and Wales.
\nBig losses for Labour could amplify calls for Starmer, 63, to resign or face a long-rumoured party leadership challenge.
\nBefore polls closed, The Times daily reported that energy secretary and former Labour leader Ed Miliband had privately urged Starmer to set out a timetable to step down after the elections.
\nBut deputy prime minister David Lammy insisted early Friday that a change of leadership would be a mistake.
\n“You don’t change the pilot during the flight, you carry on… Sometimes, particularly incumbent governments, have it hard,” he told BBC radio.
\nHe conceded there was a “lot of frustration” but that “sometimes our mistakes have been heard more than our achievements”.
\nThe party should stay strong and “pick up the pace”, he added.
\nMissteps
\nReform UK’s Farage hailed a “historic change in British politics”, telling reporters that there was “no more left-right”.
\nThe ballot is deciding around 5,000 local council seats, out of 16,000, across England, while in Wales and Scotland voters are electing new devolved parliaments.
\nReform UK and the left-wing Greens, led by self-described eco-populist Zack Polanski, are expected to benefit from widespread disillusionment with Starmer’s government.
\nCritics say Starmer has swerved from one policy misstep to another, and he has been embroiled in a scandal over Peter Mandelson, who was sacked as ambassador to Washington over his links to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
\nHe has also failed to fulfil his main promise of spurring economic growth, with impatient Britons still suffering a cost-of-living crisis, including from high energy prices.
\nThe former lawyer is now one of the most unpopular prime ministers ever.
\nSurveys suggest Labour will lose control of the devolved Welsh government in Cardiff for the first time since Wales got its own parliament 27 years ago.
\nA More in Common poll published Tuesday projected Reform UK running neck-and-neck with the pro-independence Plaid Cymru in Labour’s former heartland.
\nLabour is also fearful of a drubbing in Scotland, where the Scottish National Party (SNP) is expected to extend its 19-year control of the devolved parliament in Edinburgh.
\nYouGov has predicted that Reform UK could force Labour into third place there.
\nLeadership rumours
\nLabour looks set for big losses in London as the Greens pick up disaffected left-wingers in urban areas with a pro-Gaza message.
\nPollster Robert Hayward has predicted the ruling party could lose about 1,850 of the roughly 2,550 local authority seats it is defending.
\nHe has tipped Reform to take 1,550 seats from Labour and Kemi Badenoch’s right-wing Conservatives – mostly in white, working-class areas.
\nThe Conservatives are also bracing for the loss of traditional strongholds.
\nBritain’s media is full of rumours that ex-deputy prime minister Angela Rayner or health secretary Wes Streeting could try to oust Starmer after the results.
\nNeither is universally popular within Labour, however, and would need the backing of 20% of the party’s MPs to launch a contest.
\n","content_text":"LONDON: Britain's ruling Labour Party suffered losses in local polls Friday, according to early results, as Nigel Farage's anti-immigration Reform UK made clear gains.\nThe ballot is the biggest electoral test for beleaguered Prime Minister Keir Starmer, less than two years since he ousted the Conservatives following 14 years in power in a landslide election victory.\nGrim results predicted by opinion polls appeared to be borne out in some areas first to declare.\nBy 8.00am (0700 GMT), Reform had gained over 350 seats while Labour had lost over 240 across 40 of the 136 English councils to announce results so far.\nThe vast majority of results will not come until later Friday in the ballot across Scotland, England and Wales.\nBig losses for Labour could amplify calls for Starmer, 63, to resign or face a long-rumoured party leadership challenge.\nBefore polls closed, The Times daily reported that energy secretary and former Labour leader Ed Miliband had privately urged Starmer to set out a timetable to step down after the elections.\nBut deputy prime minister David Lammy insisted early Friday that a change of leadership would be a mistake.\n\"You don't change the pilot during the flight, you carry on... Sometimes, particularly incumbent governments, have it hard,\" he told BBC radio.\nHe conceded there was a \"lot of frustration\" but that \"sometimes our mistakes have been heard more than our achievements\".\nThe party should stay strong and \"pick up the pace\", he added.\nMissteps\nReform UK's Farage hailed a \"historic change in British politics\", telling reporters that there was \"no more left-right\".\nThe ballot is deciding around 5,000 local council seats, out of 16,000, across England, while in Wales and Scotland voters are electing new devolved parliaments.\nReform UK and the left-wing Greens, led by self-described eco-populist Zack Polanski, are expected to benefit from widespread disillusionment with Starmer's government.\nCritics say Starmer has swerved from one policy misstep to another, and he has been embroiled in a scandal over Peter Mandelson, who was sacked as ambassador to Washington over his links to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.\nHe has also failed to fulfil his main promise of spurring economic growth, with impatient Britons still suffering a cost-of-living crisis, including from high energy prices.\nThe former lawyer is now one of the most unpopular prime ministers ever.\nSurveys suggest Labour will lose control of the devolved Welsh government in Cardiff for the first time since Wales got its own parliament 27 years ago.\nA More in Common poll published Tuesday projected Reform UK running neck-and-neck with the pro-independence Plaid Cymru in Labour's former heartland.\nLabour is also fearful of a drubbing in Scotland, where the Scottish National Party (SNP) is expected to extend its 19-year control of the devolved parliament in Edinburgh.\nYouGov has predicted that Reform UK could force Labour into third place there.\nLeadership rumours\nLabour looks set for big losses in London as the Greens pick up disaffected left-wingers in urban areas with a pro-Gaza message.\nPollster Robert Hayward has predicted the ruling party could lose about 1,850 of the roughly 2,550 local authority seats it is defending.\nHe has tipped Reform to take 1,550 seats from Labour and Kemi Badenoch's right-wing Conservatives – mostly in white, working-class areas.\nThe Conservatives are also bracing for the loss of traditional strongholds.\nBritain's media is full of rumours that ex-deputy prime minister Angela Rayner or health secretary Wes Streeting could try to oust Starmer after the results.\nNeither is universally popular within Labour, however, and would need the backing of 20% of the party's MPs to launch a contest.","date_published":"2026-05-08T08:26:58.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","British politics","Conservative decline","Cost of Living","council elections","KEIR STARMER","Labour losses","Nigel Farage","political leadership","Reform UK","UK local elections"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ad2b82a9-uk-polls-election-08052026.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ad2b82a9-uk-polls-election-08052026.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/third-briton-has-suspected-hantavirus-after-cruise-outbreak","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/third-briton-has-suspected-hantavirus-after-cruise-outbreak","title":"Third Briton has suspected hantavirus after cruise outbreak","summary":"The third suspected case involving a British national was on the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha.","content_html":"LONDON: A third British national has been diagnosed with suspected hantavirus linked to a cruise ship outbreak, health officials said Friday.
\nThe “additional suspected case of a British national” was on the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
\nTwo other British nationals remain in hospital in the Netherlands and South Africa following the outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship.
\n“None of the British citizens onboard are currently reporting symptoms, but they are being closely monitored,” the agency said.
\nThe ship is expected to dock in Tenerife on Sunday, and government officials will be on the ground to help British nationals disembarking.
\nThe foreign office is chartering “a dedicated repatriation flight” for British ship passengers and crew only.
\n“This flight will be free of charge,” the agency added.
\nThe British passengers will have to isolate for 45 days once they return to the UK, and will be closely monitored and tested by the agency.
\n","content_text":"LONDON: A third British national has been diagnosed with suspected hantavirus linked to a cruise ship outbreak, health officials said Friday.\nThe \"additional suspected case of a British national\" was on the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.\nTwo other British nationals remain in hospital in the Netherlands and South Africa following the outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship.\n\"None of the British citizens onboard are currently reporting symptoms, but they are being closely monitored,\" the agency said.\nThe ship is expected to dock in Tenerife on Sunday, and government officials will be on the ground to help British nationals disembarking.\nThe foreign office is chartering \"a dedicated repatriation flight\" for British ship passengers and crew only.\n\"This flight will be free of charge,\" the agency added.\nThe British passengers will have to isolate for 45 days once they return to the UK, and will be closely monitored and tested by the agency.","date_published":"2026-05-08T07:56:19.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","British nationals","cruise ship","Disease monitorin","hantavirus outbreak","infectious disease","MV Hondius","repatriation flight","Tenerife docking","Tristan da Cunha","UK health agency"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/077049be-mv-hondius-08052026.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/077049be-mv-hondius-08052026.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/indonesia-volcanic-eruption-kills-3-hikers","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/indonesia-volcanic-eruption-kills-3-hikers","title":"Indonesia volcanic eruption kills 3 hikers","summary":"Police said 10 hikers were missing after Mount Dukono on Halmahera island erupted Friday, spewing an ash cloud about 10km into the air.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/bb95b84e-indonesia-rescue-08052026.webp\")
JAKARTA: Three hikers, including two foreigners, died and 10 were missing after Mount Dukono on Indonesia’s eastern Halmahera island erupted Friday, spewing an ash cloud about 10km into the air, a local police chief said.
\n“There are three dead, two foreigners and one resident of Ternate island in east Indonesia,” police chief Erlichson Pasaribu of North Halmahera district told Kompas TV.
\nSeven people had come down safely, Erlichson said, but 10 more were missing in an area declared off-limits to visitors last month after scientists observed an increase in volcanic activity.
\nAccording to Indonesia’s BNPB disaster mitigation agency, five climbers were injured in the eruption.
\n“The joint teams from the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) continue to conduct sweeps and evacuations of climbers in the mountain area as volcanic activity increases,” spokesman Abdul Muhari said in a statement.
\nErlichson said the rescue operation was taking place in rough terrain only accessible to vehicles part of the way up the slope.
\n“The rest of the way (the victims) need to be carried on a stretcher. And there is still rumbling from the eruption. It slows down our evacuation,” he said.
\nLana Saria, head of the government Geology Agency, said the early-morning eruption was accompanied by a “booming sound” and a thick smoke column rising around 10km from the summit of Mount Dukono.
\n“The direction of the ash distribution leans northward, so residential areas and Tobelo City need to be vigilant for… volcanic ash rain,” she said in a statement.
\nThe smoke could be dangerous for public health, Lana added, and risked disrupting transportation services.
\nRing of Fire
\nIndonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide.
\nThe Southeast Asian country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.
\nMount Dukono is currently on level two of Indonesia’s four-tiered alert system.
\nSince December, the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) has recommended that tourists and climbers do not come within 4km of the volcano’s Malupang Warirang Crater.
\nErlichson said the hikers had ignored social media appeals and warning signs put up at the entrance to the trail to stay away.
\n“Local residents understand and don’t want to climb. Many (hikers) are foreign tourists who wish to create (social media) content.”
\n","content_text":"JAKARTA: Three hikers, including two foreigners, died and 10 were missing after Mount Dukono on Indonesia's eastern Halmahera island erupted Friday, spewing an ash cloud about 10km into the air, a local police chief said.\n\"There are three dead, two foreigners and one resident of Ternate island in east Indonesia,\" police chief Erlichson Pasaribu of North Halmahera district told Kompas TV.\nSeven people had come down safely, Erlichson said, but 10 more were missing in an area declared off-limits to visitors last month after scientists observed an increase in volcanic activity.\nAccording to Indonesia's BNPB disaster mitigation agency, five climbers were injured in the eruption.\n\"The joint teams from the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) continue to conduct sweeps and evacuations of climbers in the mountain area as volcanic activity increases,\" spokesman Abdul Muhari said in a statement.\nErlichson said the rescue operation was taking place in rough terrain only accessible to vehicles part of the way up the slope.\n\"The rest of the way (the victims) need to be carried on a stretcher. And there is still rumbling from the eruption. It slows down our evacuation,\" he said.\nLana Saria, head of the government Geology Agency, said the early-morning eruption was accompanied by a \"booming sound\" and a thick smoke column rising around 10km from the summit of Mount Dukono.\n\"The direction of the ash distribution leans northward, so residential areas and Tobelo City need to be vigilant for... volcanic ash rain,\" she said in a statement.\nThe smoke could be dangerous for public health, Lana added, and risked disrupting transportation services.\nRing of Fire\nIndonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific \"Ring of Fire\", where tectonic plates collide.\nThe Southeast Asian country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.\nMount Dukono is currently on level two of Indonesia's four-tiered alert system.\nSince December, the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) has recommended that tourists and climbers do not come within 4km of the volcano's Malupang Warirang Crater.\nErlichson said the hikers had ignored social media appeals and warning signs put up at the entrance to the trail to stay away.\n\"Local residents understand and don't want to climb. Many (hikers) are foreign tourists who wish to create (social media) content.\"","date_published":"2026-05-08T07:17:13.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["South East Asia","World","Top World","ash cloud","BNPB Indonesia","Halmahera island","Indonesia eruption","missing hikers","Mount Dukono","rescue operation","ring of fire","volcanic activity","volcanic eruption"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/bb95b84e-indonesia-rescue-08052026.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/bb95b84e-indonesia-rescue-08052026.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/global-perceptions-of-us-fall-below-russia-under-trump","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/global-perceptions-of-us-fall-below-russia-under-trump","title":"Global perceptions of US fall below Russia under Trump","summary":"The Denmark-based Alliance of Democracies Foundation, which commissioned the survey, said the US was most often named as the world’s biggest threat after Russia and Israel.","content_html":"![\"Former](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/6315b361-anders-fogh-rasmussen-epa08_05_26.webp\")
BENGALURU: Global perceptions of the US have deteriorated for a second consecutive year and are now worse than views of Russia, an annual study on democracy published on Friday showed, as US President Donald Trump’s policies continue to severely strain the Nato alliance.
\nThe Denmark-based Alliance of Democracies Foundation, which commissioned the survey, said the US was also most frequently named in response to which country posed the greatest threat to the world, after Russia and Israel. The survey did not go into details on the criteria used, but the Alliance says its aim is to defend and advance democratic values.
\n“The fast decline of the US’ perception around the world is saddening but not shocking,” alliance founder and former Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.
\n“US foreign policy over the past 18 months has, among other things, called into question the transatlantic relationship, imposed widespread tariffs, and threatened to invade a Nato ally’s territory,” he added.
\nTrump’s tariffs, his repeated threats to control Greenland, a fellow Nato member through Denmark, a cut in US aid to Ukraine as well as the US-Israeli war against Iran and the ensuing spike in oil prices have deeply unsettled transatlantic relations.
\nEnraged that European countries have declined to send their navies to open the Strait of Hormuz to global shipping after the start of the air war on Iran, Trump in April said he considered withdrawing from Nato, further weakening the alliance.
\nThe Democracy Perception Index survey, which ranks the perception of countries from -100% to +100%, showed that net perception of the US had swung to -16% from +22% two years ago, placing it behind Russia at -11% and China at +7%. It did not provide a reason for the positive sentiment on China.
\nPolling firm Nira Data conducted the survey between March 19 and April 21, based on more than 94,000 respondents in 98 countries. Country perceptions were measured in a sample of 46,600 respondents in 85 countries.
\nThe report was published ahead of the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, which takes place on May 12.
\n","content_text":"BENGALURU: Global perceptions of the US have deteriorated for a second consecutive year and are now worse than views of Russia, an annual study on democracy published on Friday showed, as US President Donald Trump's policies continue to severely strain the Nato alliance.\nThe Denmark-based Alliance of Democracies Foundation, which commissioned the survey, said the US was also most frequently named in response to which country posed the greatest threat to the world, after Russia and Israel. The survey did not go into details on the criteria used, but the Alliance says its aim is to defend and advance democratic values.\n\"The fast decline of the US' perception around the world is saddening but not shocking,\" alliance founder and former Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.\n\"US foreign policy over the past 18 months has, among other things, called into question the transatlantic relationship, imposed widespread tariffs, and threatened to invade a Nato ally's territory,\" he added.\nTrump's tariffs, his repeated threats to control Greenland, a fellow Nato member through Denmark, a cut in US aid to Ukraine as well as the US-Israeli war against Iran and the ensuing spike in oil prices have deeply unsettled transatlantic relations.\nEnraged that European countries have declined to send their navies to open the Strait of Hormuz to global shipping after the start of the air war on Iran, Trump in April said he considered withdrawing from Nato, further weakening the alliance.\nThe Democracy Perception Index survey, which ranks the perception of countries from -100% to +100%, showed that net perception of the US had swung to -16% from +22% two years ago, placing it behind Russia at -11% and China at +7%. It did not provide a reason for the positive sentiment on China.\nPolling firm Nira Data conducted the survey between March 19 and April 21, based on more than 94,000 respondents in 98 countries. Country perceptions were measured in a sample of 46,600 respondents in 85 countries.\nThe report was published ahead of the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, which takes place on May 12.","date_published":"2026-05-08T06:51:10.000Z","author":{"name":"Reuters"},"tags":["World","Top World","below","fall","global","perceptions","Russia","Trump","US"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/6315b361-anders-fogh-rasmussen-epa08_05_26.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/6315b361-anders-fogh-rasmussen-epa08_05_26.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/death-toll-rises-to-37-in-chinas-fireworks-factory-blast","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/death-toll-rises-to-37-in-chinas-fireworks-factory-blast","title":"Death toll rises to 37 in China’s fireworks factory blast","summary":"On-site search and rescue work has been completed, with 51 people being treated in hospitals and one person still missing.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/793f3e0c-afp__20260505__a9ty6yt__v2__highres__chinaexplosionfireworks_cropped_1.webp\")
BEIJING: The death toll has risen to 37 from 26 and one person remains missing after a fireworks factory explosion in the southern Chinese province of Hunan, state news agency Xinhua said today, in the deadliest blast reported in China since 2019.
\nThe explosion happened at around 4.40pm on Monday in Hunan’s Liuyang, known as China’s fireworks capital because it manufactures 60% of the domestic supply of the devices and about 70% of exports.
\nXinhua said on-site research and rescue work had been completed and 51 people are being treated at hospitals.
\n“An investigation into the incident has been launched and police have summoned eight people for questioning on suspicion of causing the deadly explosion,” state media said.
\nThe probe is under the supervision of China’s top prosecutors, while Hunan has ordered the suspension of operations for all fireworks plants in the city for safety inspections.
\nIn June, an explosion at a fireworks factory in Hunan killed nine people.
\nIn 2019, a chemical plant blast in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu left 78 people dead.
\n","content_text":"BEIJING: The death toll has risen to 37 from 26 and one person remains missing after a fireworks factory explosion in the southern Chinese province of Hunan, state news agency Xinhua said today, in the deadliest blast reported in China since 2019.\nThe explosion happened at around 4.40pm on Monday in Hunan's Liuyang, known as China's fireworks capital because it manufactures 60% of the domestic supply of the devices and about 70% of exports.\nXinhua said on-site research and rescue work had been completed and 51 people are being treated at hospitals.\n\"An investigation into the incident has been launched and police have summoned eight people for questioning on suspicion of causing the deadly explosion,\" state media said.\nThe probe is under the supervision of China's top prosecutors, while Hunan has ordered the suspension of operations for all fireworks plants in the city for safety inspections.\nIn June, an explosion at a fireworks factory in Hunan killed nine people.\nIn 2019, a chemical plant blast in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu left 78 people dead.","date_published":"2026-05-08T06:23:41.000Z","author":{"name":"Reuters"},"tags":["World","Top World","blast","China","explosion","fireworks","Hunan","Jiangsu","Liuyang"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/793f3e0c-afp__20260505__a9ty6yt__v2__highres__chinaexplosionfireworks_cropped_1.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/793f3e0c-afp__20260505__a9ty6yt__v2__highres__chinaexplosionfireworks_cropped_1.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/japan-confirms-years-first-fatal-bear-attack-two-others-suspected","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/japan-confirms-years-first-fatal-bear-attack-two-others-suspected","title":"Japan confirms year’s first fatal bear attack, two others suspected","summary":"In the fiscal year between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, bear attacks injured 216 people, according to environment ministry data.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/cc2a025c-ninja-bear-220823-afp_1024x683.jpg\")
TOKYO: Japanese authorities confirmed Friday the first fatal bear attack of 2026, with media reports saying police were also investigating two other possible cases.
\nThe first victim, reportedly a 55-year-old woman, died on April 21 in Iwate prefecture in northern Japan, an environment ministry official said.
\nMedia reports said police were investigating two other deaths potentially caused by bears.
\nOf the two, one body was discovered elsewhere in the Iwate region on Thursday and another in a forest in Yamagata prefecture on Tuesday.
\nPolice confirmed to AFP that two people had died but could not immediately verify other details.
\nLast year, Japan saw a spate of deadly bear attacks, with a record 13 people killed.
\nIn the latest suspected attack in Iwate, Kumagai Chiyoko, 69, went missing after going to a mountain forest to pick edible wild plants, broadcaster NHK reported.
\nPolice and rescuers launched a search on Thursday in the forest where her car was parked and found her body shortly after 8:00 am (2300 GMT Wednesday), NHK reported.
\nShe reportedly had injuries on her face and head that appeared to have been caused by an animal’s claws.
\nCity officials said local hunters were expected to begin patrolling the area on Friday, according to the broadcaster.
\nIn the fiscal year between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, bear attacks injured 216 people, according to environment ministry data.
\nThis marked a sharp increase from the previous year, when three people died and 82 were hurt.
\nScientists say the crisis is being driven by a fast-growing bear population, combined with a falling human population.
\nLast year also saw a poor acorn harvest pushing bears to seek food elsewhere.
\nScrambling to respond, the government has deployed troops to help with trapping and hunting the animals.
\nRiot police have also been tasked with shooting them, with several thousand of the animals killed every year.
\nBrown bears are found only in the main northern island of Hokkaido, where their population has doubled over three decades to more than 11,500 as of 2023.
\nJapanese black bears, meanwhile, are common across large parts of the country including on the main island of Honshu which includes Iwate and Yamagata.
\nIn 2024, the government added bears to the list of animals subject to population control, reversing protection that had helped the mammals thrive.
\n","content_text":"TOKYO: Japanese authorities confirmed Friday the first fatal bear attack of 2026, with media reports saying police were also investigating two other possible cases.\nThe first victim, reportedly a 55-year-old woman, died on April 21 in Iwate prefecture in northern Japan, an environment ministry official said.\nMedia reports said police were investigating two other deaths potentially caused by bears.\nOf the two, one body was discovered elsewhere in the Iwate region on Thursday and another in a forest in Yamagata prefecture on Tuesday.\nPolice confirmed to AFP that two people had died but could not immediately verify other details.\nLast year, Japan saw a spate of deadly bear attacks, with a record 13 people killed.\nIn the latest suspected attack in Iwate, Kumagai Chiyoko, 69, went missing after going to a mountain forest to pick edible wild plants, broadcaster NHK reported.\nPolice and rescuers launched a search on Thursday in the forest where her car was parked and found her body shortly after 8:00 am (2300 GMT Wednesday), NHK reported.\nShe reportedly had injuries on her face and head that appeared to have been caused by an animal's claws.\nCity officials said local hunters were expected to begin patrolling the area on Friday, according to the broadcaster.\nIn the fiscal year between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, bear attacks injured 216 people, according to environment ministry data.\nThis marked a sharp increase from the previous year, when three people died and 82 were hurt.\nScientists say the crisis is being driven by a fast-growing bear population, combined with a falling human population.\nLast year also saw a poor acorn harvest pushing bears to seek food elsewhere.\nScrambling to respond, the government has deployed troops to help with trapping and hunting the animals.\nRiot police have also been tasked with shooting them, with several thousand of the animals killed every year.\nBrown bears are found only in the main northern island of Hokkaido, where their population has doubled over three decades to more than 11,500 as of 2023.\nJapanese black bears, meanwhile, are common across large parts of the country including on the main island of Honshu which includes Iwate and Yamagata.\nIn 2024, the government added bears to the list of animals subject to population control, reversing protection that had helped the mammals thrive.","date_published":"2026-05-08T06:23:27.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","attack","Bear","confirms","fatal","first","Japan"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/cc2a025c-ninja-bear-220823-afp_1024x683.jpg","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/cc2a025c-ninja-bear-220823-afp_1024x683.jpg"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/what-does-china-want-out-of-trumps-visit","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/what-does-china-want-out-of-trumps-visit","title":"What does China want out of Trump’s visit?","summary":"Beyond diplomatic niceties and behind closed doors, Beijing will be looking for small, concrete achievements, but will stay 'realistically pragmatic' given US President Donald Trump's unpredictable nature.","content_html":"![\"US](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/3283f2bd-trump-xi-jinping-afp08_05_26.webp\")
BEIJING: US President Donald Trump is due to visit China on May 14-15, where he is expected to meet leader Xi Jinping, after delaying an earlier summit because of the Iran war.
\nHere is what Beijing could be hoping to achieve:
\nWhat does China want?
\nBeyond diplomatic niceties and behind closed doors, Beijing will be looking for small, concrete achievements, analysts said, but will stay “realistically pragmatic” given Trump’s unpredictable nature.
\nChina wants a broad reset in ties but knows this would be unlikely, said Benjamin Ho from Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
\nBeijing and Washington had been locked in a blistering trade war in which US levies on many Chinese goods reached an eye-watering 145%.
\nThe tit-for-tat escalation cooled off after Trump and Xi agreed in October to a one-year truce, with experts saying Beijing’s baseline goal for the upcoming meeting would be to extend that agreement.
\n“What China needs is for Trump to follow through on his promise to engage, with at least a few concrete outcomes discussed at the highest level,” said Yue Su from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
\nBeijing will be satisfied with “targeted” results such as limited tariff reductions that would justify a measured rollback of its own tariffs or export restrictions, she said.
\nWhat about the Iran war?
\nThe topic of Iran will be “hard to avoid” in the Trump-Xi meeting, experts said, but “this is not a domain China is eager to engage deeply on”.
\n“The US is already raising pressure pre-summit on China by targeting its economic ties with Tehran,” said Lizzi Lee at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
\nTrump warned last month he would hit China’s goods with a 50% tariff if it provided military assistance to Iran.
\nBeijing is a close partner of Tehran and has called US-Israeli strikes on Iran illegal, but it has also criticised Iranian attacks on Gulf countries and called for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened.
\nHowever, China will not accept pressure from the US to take action on Iran or Russia, over whom it “may have some influence but not decisive control”, the EIU’s Su said.
\nBeijing will also aim to avoid “additional complications” such as new US tariffs linked to China’s trade with Iran being introduced into an “already complex relationship”, Su said.
\nThe Iran war will add “another layer of mutual pressure”, Lee said, but the real negotiating terrain remains in trade and investment.
\nWhat are China’s bargaining chips?
\nOne of China’s key bargaining chips is its rare earths — metals crucial in the production of everything from smartphones to electric cars.
\nChina’s dominance in the rare earths industry, from natural reserves and mining through processing and innovation, is the result of a decades-long drive.
\nIt remains China’s strongest tool if meaningful concessions from the US are needed, Su said.
\nTrump has shown that he “cares a lot about” rare earths, said Joe Mazur, a geopolitics analyst at Beijing-based consultancy Trivium China.
\n“I think that’s sort of something that the US doesn’t really have an answer to,” he said.
\nMazur thinks that China is “going to line up… quick wins” before the visit, which may include buying more US agricultural products or Boeing jets.
\nChina, he said, might hope “that will put Trump and his team in a positive frame of mind when they’re then discussing more complex, thornier issues”.
\nHow has Beijing prepared?
\nChina has hedged against instability brought about by Trump through diversifying trade towards Southeast Asia and the Global South, and strengthening regional ties, said the Asia Society’s Lee.
\nBeijing has also sharpened its legal and regulatory toolbox, she said, and “has a potentially more extensive playbook”, as seen in the recent blocking of tech giant Meta’s acquisition of AI firm Manus.
\nHowever, a lot of these measures, including diversification of energy imports, a push towards electrification and tech self-sufficiency, predate Trump’s second term, Mazur said.
\n“If this meeting goes exceptionally well, it’s not going to change the trajectory that China’s on,” he said.
\n“This push to America-proof the Chinese economy is going to continue, no matter what happens.”
\nIs China confident?
\nBeijing will enter talks “cautiously confident”, Lee said.
\nIt believes it can absorb pressure better now and is more comfortable playing “a long game” than Trump, who is facing midterm election pressure, she said.
\nA visit to Beijing by Russian President Vladimir Putin is also on the cards, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov — who met Xi in April — saying it would happen in the first half of this year.
\nA back-to-back visit would send the message that “just because he (Xi) had a good meeting with Trump, it doesn’t mean that Chinese support for Russia is going anywhere”, Mazur told AFP.
\n“That relationship is rock solid.”
\n","content_text":"BEIJING: US President Donald Trump is due to visit China on May 14-15, where he is expected to meet leader Xi Jinping, after delaying an earlier summit because of the Iran war.\nHere is what Beijing could be hoping to achieve:\nWhat does China want? \nBeyond diplomatic niceties and behind closed doors, Beijing will be looking for small, concrete achievements, analysts said, but will stay \"realistically pragmatic\" given Trump's unpredictable nature.\nChina wants a broad reset in ties but knows this would be unlikely, said Benjamin Ho from Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.\nBeijing and Washington had been locked in a blistering trade war in which US levies on many Chinese goods reached an eye-watering 145%.\nThe tit-for-tat escalation cooled off after Trump and Xi agreed in October to a one-year truce, with experts saying Beijing's baseline goal for the upcoming meeting would be to extend that agreement.\n\"What China needs is for Trump to follow through on his promise to engage, with at least a few concrete outcomes discussed at the highest level,\" said Yue Su from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).\nBeijing will be satisfied with \"targeted\" results such as limited tariff reductions that would justify a measured rollback of its own tariffs or export restrictions, she said.\n What about the Iran war? \nThe topic of Iran will be \"hard to avoid\" in the Trump-Xi meeting, experts said, but \"this is not a domain China is eager to engage deeply on\".\n\"The US is already raising pressure pre-summit on China by targeting its economic ties with Tehran,\" said Lizzi Lee at the Asia Society Policy Institute.\nTrump warned last month he would hit China's goods with a 50% tariff if it provided military assistance to Iran.\nBeijing is a close partner of Tehran and has called US-Israeli strikes on Iran illegal, but it has also criticised Iranian attacks on Gulf countries and called for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened.\nHowever, China will not accept pressure from the US to take action on Iran or Russia, over whom it \"may have some influence but not decisive control\", the EIU's Su said.\nBeijing will also aim to avoid \"additional complications\" such as new US tariffs linked to China's trade with Iran being introduced into an \"already complex relationship\", Su said.\nThe Iran war will add \"another layer of mutual pressure\", Lee said, but the real negotiating terrain remains in trade and investment.\nWhat are China's bargaining chips? \nOne of China's key bargaining chips is its rare earths - metals crucial in the production of everything from smartphones to electric cars.\nChina's dominance in the rare earths industry, from natural reserves and mining through processing and innovation, is the result of a decades-long drive.\nIt remains China's strongest tool if meaningful concessions from the US are needed, Su said.\nTrump has shown that he \"cares a lot about\" rare earths, said Joe Mazur, a geopolitics analyst at Beijing-based consultancy Trivium China.\n\"I think that's sort of something that the US doesn't really have an answer to,\" he said.\nMazur thinks that China is \"going to line up... quick wins\" before the visit, which may include buying more US agricultural products or Boeing jets.\nChina, he said, might hope \"that will put Trump and his team in a positive frame of mind when they're then discussing more complex, thornier issues\".\nHow has Beijing prepared? \nChina has hedged against instability brought about by Trump through diversifying trade towards Southeast Asia and the Global South, and strengthening regional ties, said the Asia Society's Lee.\nBeijing has also sharpened its legal and regulatory toolbox, she said, and \"has a potentially more extensive playbook\", as seen in the recent blocking of tech giant Meta's acquisition of AI firm Manus.\nHowever, a lot of these measures, including diversification of energy imports, a push towards electrification and tech self-sufficiency, predate Trump's second term, Mazur said.\n\"If this meeting goes exceptionally well, it's not going to change the trajectory that China's on,\" he said.\n\"This push to America-proof the Chinese economy is going to continue, no matter what happens.\"\nIs China confident?\nBeijing will enter talks \"cautiously confident\", Lee said.\nIt believes it can absorb pressure better now and is more comfortable playing \"a long game\" than Trump, who is facing midterm election pressure, she said.\nA visit to Beijing by Russian President Vladimir Putin is also on the cards, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov - who met Xi in April - saying it would happen in the first half of this year.\nA back-to-back visit would send the message that \"just because he (Xi) had a good meeting with Trump, it doesn't mean that Chinese support for Russia is going anywhere\", Mazur told AFP.\n\"That relationship is rock solid.\"","date_published":"2026-05-08T05:54:55.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","China","Trump","visit","want","xi jinping"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/3283f2bd-trump-xi-jinping-afp08_05_26.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/3283f2bd-trump-xi-jinping-afp08_05_26.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/leo-marks-one-year-as-pope-in-pompeii-naples","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/leo-marks-one-year-as-pope-in-pompeii-naples","title":"Leo marks one year as pope in Pompeii, Naples","summary":"Pope Leo XIV will mark the anniversary of his May 8, 2025 election at the sanctuary of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/269306f6-afp__20260404__a6ru63w__v1__highres__vaticanreligioneastervigil_1_cropped_1.webp\")
POMPEII: Pope Leo XIV marks one year as leader of the Catholic Church Friday with a visit to southern Italy, returning to his flock after weeks dominated by a clash with Washington.
\nThe first American pontiff will mark the anniversary of his May 8, 2025 election in Pompeii and Naples, starting the visit at a shrine founded by a former Satanic priest.
\nThe 70-year-old pope will arrive shortly before 9am at the sanctuary of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii, near the ruins of the ancient Roman city destroyed by a volcanic eruption.
\nIt holds the body of Bartolo Longo, a 19th-century saint who rediscovered his Catholic faith after being a Satanic priest.
\nLeo will also celebrate a mass and travel by popemobile through the crowd, with tens of thousands of faithful expected to attend.
\nOn the eve of the visit, hundreds of seats had been set up in the plaza in front of the basilica, with workers performing soundchecks from the stage where Leo will appear.
\nLocal Nicoletta Barbato, 51, said she volunteered for a charity helping disadvantaged families who Leo is scheduled to meet on Friday.
\nShe said she would be presenting a baby from one of the families for the pope’s blessing.
\n“The hope is that the five-month-old baby will get blessed,” she said, vowing to hold her up high in his sights.
\nThe sanctuary has a strong connection with Leo, who cited the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii in his first address from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
\nThe pope will then head to nearby Naples, the teeming southern Italian metropolis where he will venerate the relics of San Gennaro, the city’s patron saint, and salute the crowds in the Piazza del Plebiscito.
\nThe one-day trip marks the first of several short pastoral visits planned this summer in Italy, and comes a fortnight after a tour of four African nations.
\nHowever, that tour, and the run-up to Friday’s anniversary, have been overshadowed by Trump’s extraordinary attack on Leo last month over the pontiff’s anti-war stance.
\nLeo on Thursday met US state secretary Marco Rubio at the Vatican, with the latter seeking to mend ties.
\nA US spokesman hailed the “strong relationship” between the Vatican and the Holy See, while an official told AFP the talks had been “friendly and constructive”.
\nIn a terse statement, the Vatican said the Holy See and the US discussed the “need to work tirelessly for peace”.
\nTwo saints, many crowds
\nA long line of popes, including Leo’s predecessor Francis, Benedict XVI and John Paul II, have prayed at the sanctuary in Pompeii, which is known for charitable works.
\nThe shrine also has a strong connection with Leo XIII – the 19th century pope who inspired the current pontiff with his defence of workers – who made the shrine a pontifical basilica in 1901.
\nIts founder, Longo, was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980 and canonised – made a saint – by Leo in October 2025.
\nPompeii resident Salvatore Pepe, 44, said the crush of pilgrims expected Friday might keep him away.
\n“I live 50m from the plaza, so I can stick my head out of the window,” he laughed.
\nIn Pompeii, Leo will meet with people helped by sanctuary charity programmes, pray before the glass case holding Longo’s preserved body inside the sanctuary, and celebrate a mass.
\nThe pope will then fly by helicopter to Naples, where he heads to the Duomo, the cathedral that hold the relics of San Gennaro, and give a speech.
\nHe will then greet the crowds gathered in the huge Piazza del Plebiscito outside the Basilica of St Francis of Paola, where inside he will give another address, before departing the city.
\n","content_text":"POMPEII: Pope Leo XIV marks one year as leader of the Catholic Church Friday with a visit to southern Italy, returning to his flock after weeks dominated by a clash with Washington.\nThe first American pontiff will mark the anniversary of his May 8, 2025 election in Pompeii and Naples, starting the visit at a shrine founded by a former Satanic priest.\nThe 70-year-old pope will arrive shortly before 9am at the sanctuary of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii, near the ruins of the ancient Roman city destroyed by a volcanic eruption.\nIt holds the body of Bartolo Longo, a 19th-century saint who rediscovered his Catholic faith after being a Satanic priest.\nLeo will also celebrate a mass and travel by popemobile through the crowd, with tens of thousands of faithful expected to attend.\nOn the eve of the visit, hundreds of seats had been set up in the plaza in front of the basilica, with workers performing soundchecks from the stage where Leo will appear.\nLocal Nicoletta Barbato, 51, said she volunteered for a charity helping disadvantaged families who Leo is scheduled to meet on Friday.\nShe said she would be presenting a baby from one of the families for the pope's blessing.\n\"The hope is that the five-month-old baby will get blessed,\" she said, vowing to hold her up high in his sights.\nThe sanctuary has a strong connection with Leo, who cited the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii in his first address from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.\nThe pope will then head to nearby Naples, the teeming southern Italian metropolis where he will venerate the relics of San Gennaro, the city's patron saint, and salute the crowds in the Piazza del Plebiscito.\nThe one-day trip marks the first of several short pastoral visits planned this summer in Italy, and comes a fortnight after a tour of four African nations.\nHowever, that tour, and the run-up to Friday's anniversary, have been overshadowed by Trump's extraordinary attack on Leo last month over the pontiff's anti-war stance.\nLeo on Thursday met US state secretary Marco Rubio at the Vatican, with the latter seeking to mend ties.\nA US spokesman hailed the \"strong relationship\" between the Vatican and the Holy See, while an official told AFP the talks had been \"friendly and constructive\".\nIn a terse statement, the Vatican said the Holy See and the US discussed the \"need to work tirelessly for peace\".\nTwo saints, many crowds\nA long line of popes, including Leo's predecessor Francis, Benedict XVI and John Paul II, have prayed at the sanctuary in Pompeii, which is known for charitable works.\nThe shrine also has a strong connection with Leo XIII - the 19th century pope who inspired the current pontiff with his defence of workers - who made the shrine a pontifical basilica in 1901.\nIts founder, Longo, was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980 and canonised - made a saint - by Leo in October 2025.\nPompeii resident Salvatore Pepe, 44, said the crush of pilgrims expected Friday might keep him away.\n\"I live 50m from the plaza, so I can stick my head out of the window,\" he laughed.\nIn Pompeii, Leo will meet with people helped by sanctuary charity programmes, pray before the glass case holding Longo's preserved body inside the sanctuary, and celebrate a mass.\nThe pope will then fly by helicopter to Naples, where he heads to the Duomo, the cathedral that hold the relics of San Gennaro, and give a speech.\nHe will then greet the crowds gathered in the huge Piazza del Plebiscito outside the Basilica of St Francis of Paola, where inside he will give another address, before departing the city.","date_published":"2026-05-08T05:23:26.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","Donald Trump","Italy","marco rubio","Naples","Pompeii","Pope Leo XIV","St Peter's Basilica","the US","Vatican","Virgin of the Rosary"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/269306f6-afp__20260404__a6ru63w__v1__highres__vaticanreligioneastervigil_1_cropped_1.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/269306f6-afp__20260404__a6ru63w__v1__highres__vaticanreligioneastervigil_1_cropped_1.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/southeast-asian-leaders-seek-strategy-to-ease-impacts-of-iran-war","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/southeast-asian-leaders-seek-strategy-to-ease-impacts-of-iran-war","title":"Southeast Asian leaders seek strategy to ease impacts of Iran war","summary":"Asean chairman Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr called for resilience amid challenges arising from the Iran war and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.","content_html":"![\"Philippine](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/a04ee744-ferdinand-marcos-epa-08_05_26.webp\")
CEBU: Leaders of Southeast Asian countries holding a summit on Friday are expected to thrash out a coordinated response to the impacts of the Middle East crisis, as they aim to ease pressure from an energy shock that has rattled their oil import-reliant economies.
\nMeeting on the Philippine island of Cebu, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are expected to press for a harmonised strategy to ensure energy and food security in a region particularly exposed to a nearly 70-day blockade of the critical Strait of Hormuz.
\nIn opening remarks as chair of Asean, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said Asean was standing together to demonstrate its capacity to respond with unity and resolve, but must remain agile.
\n“We must ensure regional energy security and resilience,” he said.
\n“At a time of heightened volatility, Asean must strengthen coordination and reinforce preparedness, pursue practical collective measures to safeguard a stable energy supply and improve interconnectivity.”
\nAsean economic ministers met in Cebu on Thursday and “identified practical, concrete response measures” to ensure energy and food security, according to a chair statement, but the proposals lacked specific details.
\nThey included diversifying suppliers and routes and developing a crisis communication protocol, but it was unclear what, if any, action might be taken.
\nThe region, with a population of nearly 700 million people and economies worth a combined US$3.8 trillion, faces significant risks from the fallout of the Iran war, and the Philippines – among the first countries in the world to declare an energy emergency – has pushed for approval of a voluntary, commercial-based Asean oil-sharing framework agreement.
\nBut coordination remains a big challenge for Asean. Despite rapid growth of its individual economies, integration has been slow, with vast differences between its 11 members and no central authority to ensure compliance with Asean agreements and initiatives.
\nThe Asean leaders will hold a retreat on Friday and are expected to call for a negotiated settlement between the US and Iran as well as a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for about 130 vessels a day and a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies prior to the conflict.
\nLeaders will urge Asean members to complete the domestic processes required to approve a fuel-sharing pact, ensuring its “earliest possible entry into force”, according to a working draft of a statement seen by Reuters on Thursday.
\nThough the war has dominated talks in Cebu so far, progress was made in other areas on Thursday, with Marcos calling a meeting of the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia amid a fragile ceasefire, resulting in an agreement to restart engagement after two rounds of deadly border conflict last year.
\nForeign ministers also agreed to hold a virtual meeting with their counterpart from Myanmar, which is eager to normalise ties with Asean and allow its leadership to participate in its summits following a ban imposed after a 2021 military coup led to nationwide demonstrations that spiraled into civil war.
\nThe crisis in Myanmar has long divided the bloc, with some members seeking engagement with a new, nominally civilian government led by former junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who became president recently after a one-sided election swept by a pro-military party.
\n","content_text":"CEBU: Leaders of Southeast Asian countries holding a summit on Friday are expected to thrash out a coordinated response to the impacts of the Middle East crisis, as they aim to ease pressure from an energy shock that has rattled their oil import-reliant economies.\nMeeting on the Philippine island of Cebu, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are expected to press for a harmonised strategy to ensure energy and food security in a region particularly exposed to a nearly 70-day blockade of the critical Strait of Hormuz.\nIn opening remarks as chair of Asean, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said Asean was standing together to demonstrate its capacity to respond with unity and resolve, but must remain agile.\n\"We must ensure regional energy security and resilience,\" he said.\n\"At a time of heightened volatility, Asean must strengthen coordination and reinforce preparedness, pursue practical collective measures to safeguard a stable energy supply and improve interconnectivity.\"\nAsean economic ministers met in Cebu on Thursday and \"identified practical, concrete response measures\" to ensure energy and food security, according to a chair statement, but the proposals lacked specific details.\nThey included diversifying suppliers and routes and developing a crisis communication protocol, but it was unclear what, if any, action might be taken.\nThe region, with a population of nearly 700 million people and economies worth a combined US$3.8 trillion, faces significant risks from the fallout of the Iran war, and the Philippines - among the first countries in the world to declare an energy emergency - has pushed for approval of a voluntary, commercial-based Asean oil-sharing framework agreement.\nBut coordination remains a big challenge for Asean. Despite rapid growth of its individual economies, integration has been slow, with vast differences between its 11 members and no central authority to ensure compliance with Asean agreements and initiatives.\nThe Asean leaders will hold a retreat on Friday and are expected to call for a negotiated settlement between the US and Iran as well as a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for about 130 vessels a day and a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies prior to the conflict.\nLeaders will urge Asean members to complete the domestic processes required to approve a fuel-sharing pact, ensuring its \"earliest possible entry into force\", according to a working draft of a statement seen by Reuters on Thursday.\nThough the war has dominated talks in Cebu so far, progress was made in other areas on Thursday, with Marcos calling a meeting of the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia amid a fragile ceasefire, resulting in an agreement to restart engagement after two rounds of deadly border conflict last year.\nForeign ministers also agreed to hold a virtual meeting with their counterpart from Myanmar, which is eager to normalise ties with Asean and allow its leadership to participate in its summits following a ban imposed after a 2021 military coup led to nationwide demonstrations that spiraled into civil war.\nThe crisis in Myanmar has long divided the bloc, with some members seeking engagement with a new, nominally civilian government led by former junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who became president recently after a one-sided election swept by a pro-military party.","date_published":"2026-05-08T05:16:51.000Z","author":{"name":"Reuters"},"tags":["South East Asia","World","Top World","Asian","ease","impacts","Iran","leaders","seek","southeast","strategy","war"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/a04ee744-ferdinand-marcos-epa-08_05_26.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/a04ee744-ferdinand-marcos-epa-08_05_26.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/08/uae-countering-iranian-air-attack-after-trump-says-ceasefire-still-in-effect","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/08/uae-countering-iranian-air-attack-after-trump-says-ceasefire-still-in-effect","title":"UAE countering Iranian air attack after Trump says ceasefire still in effect","summary":"The two sides have occasionally exchanged gunfire since the ceasefire took effect on April 7, with Iran hitting targets in Gulf countries.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/e3abcb65-afp__20260301__99fx2ha__v1__highres__uaeisraelusiranconflict_cropped_1.webp\")
WASHINGTON: US ally the UAE said its air defences were engaging missile and drone threats from Iran early today in a further test of the shaky, month-long ceasefire between the US and Iran.
\nThere were few details immediately available about the latest attack on the UAE, which came a day after the US and Iran exchanged fire around the Strait of Hormuz, and as Washington awaited a response from Tehran to its proposal to end the conflict.
\nIran has often targeted the UAE and other Gulf countries that host US bases since the war began on Feb 28.
\nPresident Donald Trump said on Thursday three US Navy destroyers were attacked as they moved through the strait, a conduit for around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows that Iran has all but closed since the conflict started.
\n\n“Three World Class American Destroyers just transited, very successfully, out of the Strait of Hormuz, under fire.
\n“There was no damage done to the three Destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
\nTrump later told reporters the ceasefire was still in effect and sought to play down the exchange.
\n“They trifled with us today. We blew them away,” Trump said in Washington.
\nIran’s top joint military command accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting an Iranian oil tanker and another ship, and of carrying out air attacks on civilian areas on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz and the nearby coastal areas of Bandar Khamir and Sirik on the mainland.
\nThe military said it responded by attacking US military vessels east of the strait and south of the port of Chabahar.
\nA spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the Iranian strikes inflicted “significant damage,” but US Central Command said none of its assets were hit.
\nIran’s Press TV later reported that, following several hours of fire, “the situation on Iranian islands and coastal cities by the Strait of Hormuz is back to normal now”.
\nThe two sides have occasionally exchanged gunfire since the ceasefire took effect on April 7, with Iran hitting targets in Gulf countries including the UAE.
\nOil prices rose in early trade in Asia on Friday, with Brent crude jumping above US$100 a barrel after the latest clashes between the US and Iran.
\nTrump urges negotiated end to war
\nTrump suggested ongoing talks with Tehran remained on track despite Thursday’s hostilities, telling reporters, “We’re negotiating with the Iranians”.
\nBefore the latest strikes, the US had floated a proposal that would formally end the conflict but did not address key US demands that Iran suspend its nuclear work and reopen the strait.
\nTehran said it had not yet reached a decision on the emerging plan.
\nEven so, Trump said Tehran had acknowledged his demand that Iran could never get a nuclear weapon, a prohibition he said was spelled out in the US proposal.
\n“There’s zero chance. And they know that, and they’ve agreed to that. Let’s see if they are willing to sign it,” Trump said.
\nAsked when any deal might be reached, Trump said, “It might not happen, but it could happen any day. I believe they want to deal more than I do”.
\nThe war has tested Trump’s relationship with his US base of supporters, after he had campaigned against involving the US in foreign wars and promised to bring down fuel prices.
\nAverage US gasoline prices have climbed more than 40% since late February, rising by about US$1.20 a gallon to more than US$4, according to data from the American Automobile Association, as disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz pushed crude oil prices higher.
\n","content_text":"WASHINGTON: US ally the UAE said its air defences were engaging missile and drone threats from Iran early today in a further test of the shaky, month-long ceasefire between the US and Iran.\nThere were few details immediately available about the latest attack on the UAE, which came a day after the US and Iran exchanged fire around the Strait of Hormuz, and as Washington awaited a response from Tehran to its proposal to end the conflict.\nIran has often targeted the UAE and other Gulf countries that host US bases since the war began on Feb 28.\nPresident Donald Trump said on Thursday three US Navy destroyers were attacked as they moved through the strait, a conduit for around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows that Iran has all but closed since the conflict started.\n\n\"Three World Class American Destroyers just transited, very successfully, out of the Strait of Hormuz, under fire.\n\"There was no damage done to the three Destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers,\" Trump wrote on Truth Social.\nTrump later told reporters the ceasefire was still in effect and sought to play down the exchange.\n\"They trifled with us today. We blew them away,\" Trump said in Washington.\nIran's top joint military command accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting an Iranian oil tanker and another ship, and of carrying out air attacks on civilian areas on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz and the nearby coastal areas of Bandar Khamir and Sirik on the mainland.\nThe military said it responded by attacking US military vessels east of the strait and south of the port of Chabahar.\nA spokesman for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the Iranian strikes inflicted \"significant damage,\" but US Central Command said none of its assets were hit.\nIran's Press TV later reported that, following several hours of fire, \"the situation on Iranian islands and coastal cities by the Strait of Hormuz is back to normal now\".\nThe two sides have occasionally exchanged gunfire since the ceasefire took effect on April 7, with Iran hitting targets in Gulf countries including the UAE.\nOil prices rose in early trade in Asia on Friday, with Brent crude jumping above US$100 a barrel after the latest clashes between the US and Iran.\nTrump urges negotiated end to war \nTrump suggested ongoing talks with Tehran remained on track despite Thursday's hostilities, telling reporters, \"We're negotiating with the Iranians\".\nBefore the latest strikes, the US had floated a proposal that would formally end the conflict but did not address key US demands that Iran suspend its nuclear work and reopen the strait.\nTehran said it had not yet reached a decision on the emerging plan.\nEven so, Trump said Tehran had acknowledged his demand that Iran could never get a nuclear weapon, a prohibition he said was spelled out in the US proposal.\n\"There's zero chance. And they know that, and they've agreed to that. Let's see if they are willing to sign it,\" Trump said.\nAsked when any deal might be reached, Trump said, \"It might not happen, but it could happen any day. I believe they want to deal more than I do\".\nThe war has tested Trump's relationship with his US base of supporters, after he had campaigned against involving the US in foreign wars and promised to bring down fuel prices.\nAverage US gasoline prices have climbed more than 40% since late February, rising by about US$1.20 a gallon to more than US$4, according to data from the American Automobile Association, as disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz pushed crude oil prices higher.","date_published":"2026-05-08T05:00:50.000Z","author":{"name":"Reuters"},"tags":["Highlight","World","Top World","AIR DEFENCE","Donald Trump","Iran","Israel","missiles","oil prices","Strait of Hormuz","the US","UAE","US Navy destroyers"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/e3abcb65-afp__20260301__99fx2ha__v1__highres__uaeisraelusiranconflict_cropped_1.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/e3abcb65-afp__20260301__99fx2ha__v1__highres__uaeisraelusiranconflict_cropped_1.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/taiwan-welcomes-paraguay-leader-as-china-applies-diplomatic-pressure","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/taiwan-welcomes-paraguay-leader-as-china-applies-diplomatic-pressure","title":"Taiwan welcomes Paraguay leader as China applies diplomatic pressure","summary":"Taipei has only 12 diplomatic allies after Beijing systematically poached others in a bid to isolate the self-governed island.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/5a01ceda-afp__20260508__b28r2tm__v1__highres__taiwanparaguaydiplomacy_cropped_2-1.webp\")
TAIPEI: Taiwan rolled out the red carpet for Paraguay President Santiago Pena today, as the democratic island shores up ties with its only South American ally in a rebuff to China’s diplomatic pressure.
\nTaipei has only 12 diplomatic allies after Beijing, which claims Taiwan is part of its territory, systematically poached the others in a bid to isolate the self-governed island.
\nPena is leading a delegation of government officials and business representatives on a four-day visit, and has described the island as a “fundamental partner” for the South American country.
\nPresident Lai Ching-te officially welcomed Pena today with military honours, including cannon salutes and red carpet, ahead of a sit-down meeting.
\nAddressing the military parade under grey skies, Lai thanked Pena and his government “for long speaking up for Taiwan on the international stage”.
\n“Taiwan and Paraguay are partners firmly committed to the values of democracy, freedom and human rights,” Lai said.
\nPena said: “Paraguay deeply values this relationship and reaffirms its commitment to continue supporting Taiwan in a strategic alliance based on shared values”.
\nSince arriving Thursday, Pena has met with Taiwan’s vice-president and other senior government ministers, and received an honorary doctorate from the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, which he hailed as a reflection of the “solid alliance” between Taiwan and Paraguay.
\nPena’s visit comes days after Lai returned from an official trip to Eswatini, Taiwan’s only ally in Africa.
\nTaiwan has accused China of trying to stop Lai’s visit to Eswatini by applying “intense pressure” to Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar to revoke overflight permits for his original trip, which had been scheduled for April 22-26 and was cancelled at the last minute.
\nLai end up using the Eswatini king’s plane to make the journey.
\nLai’s last official overseas trip was in November 2024, when he visited Taiwan’s Pacific allies and transited through the US territory of Guam.
\nPena had announced in July 2025 that Lai would visit Paraguay the following month.
\nHowever, Trump’s administration reportedly denied Lai permission to transit through New York last year as part of an official trip to Latin America.
\nTaiwan’s foreign ministry denied that he was blocked.
\n","content_text":"TAIPEI: Taiwan rolled out the red carpet for Paraguay President Santiago Pena today, as the democratic island shores up ties with its only South American ally in a rebuff to China's diplomatic pressure.\nTaipei has only 12 diplomatic allies after Beijing, which claims Taiwan is part of its territory, systematically poached the others in a bid to isolate the self-governed island.\nPena is leading a delegation of government officials and business representatives on a four-day visit, and has described the island as a \"fundamental partner\" for the South American country.\nPresident Lai Ching-te officially welcomed Pena today with military honours, including cannon salutes and red carpet, ahead of a sit-down meeting.\nAddressing the military parade under grey skies, Lai thanked Pena and his government \"for long speaking up for Taiwan on the international stage\".\n\"Taiwan and Paraguay are partners firmly committed to the values of democracy, freedom and human rights,\" Lai said.\nPena said: \"Paraguay deeply values this relationship and reaffirms its commitment to continue supporting Taiwan in a strategic alliance based on shared values\".\nSince arriving Thursday, Pena has met with Taiwan's vice-president and other senior government ministers, and received an honorary doctorate from the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, which he hailed as a reflection of the \"solid alliance\" between Taiwan and Paraguay.\nPena's visit comes days after Lai returned from an official trip to Eswatini, Taiwan's only ally in Africa.\nTaiwan has accused China of trying to stop Lai's visit to Eswatini by applying \"intense pressure\" to Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar to revoke overflight permits for his original trip, which had been scheduled for April 22-26 and was cancelled at the last minute.\nLai end up using the Eswatini king's plane to make the journey.\nLai's last official overseas trip was in November 2024, when he visited Taiwan's Pacific allies and transited through the US territory of Guam.\nPena had announced in July 2025 that Lai would visit Paraguay the following month.\nHowever, Trump's administration reportedly denied Lai permission to transit through New York last year as part of an official trip to Latin America.\nTaiwan's foreign ministry denied that he was blocked.","date_published":"2026-05-08T04:32:14.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","China","Lai Ching-te","Paraguay","President Santiago Pena","South American","Taiwan"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/5a01ceda-afp__20260508__b28r2tm__v1__highres__taiwanparaguaydiplomacy_cropped_2-1.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/5a01ceda-afp__20260508__b28r2tm__v1__highres__taiwanparaguaydiplomacy_cropped_2-1.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/05/08/trump-administration-invites-nvidia-boeing-ceos-for-china-trip","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/05/08/trump-administration-invites-nvidia-boeing-ceos-for-china-trip","title":"Trump administration invites Nvidia, Boeing CEOs for China trip","summary":"The reporting comes as expectations swirl about possible deals during US President Donald Trump's visit next week to Beijing to meet with China's leader Xi Jinping.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/d70c7283-13007386_cropped_1.webp\")
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is inviting CEOs from Nvidia, Apple, Exxon, Boeing and other big companies to accompany the president on his trip to China next week, Semafor reported yesterday.
\nExecutives from Qualcomm, Blackstone, Citigroup, and Visa are also on the invitation list, according to the report.
\nA person familiar with the matter confirmed that Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser was invited.
\nQualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon will attend as long as the trip goes ahead as planned, said a source with knowledge of the matter.
\nReuters was not able to confirm the full list of companies invited, but a different source said several CEOs received invitations on Wednesday evening.
\nIn an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said, “We should let the president announce whatever he decides to announce … If invited, it would be a privilege, it would be a great honour to represent the US”.
\nThe White House, Apple, Citigroup, Exxon and Visa did not respond to requests for comment. Blackstone and Boeing declined to comment.
\nThe reporting comes as expectations swirl about possible deals during President Donald Trump’s visit next week to Beijing to meet with China’s leader Xi Jinping.
\nBoeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told Reuters in April the company was counting on the Trump administration to help unlock a long-awaited major order from China.
\nChina and the US plane maker have been in prolonged talks for a deal that industry sources say could include 500 737 MAX jets, plus dozens of widebody jets.
\nIt would be the country’s first major Boeing order since 2017, and any announcement of the order would be viewed as a major win for the leaders’ summit.
\n","content_text":"WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is inviting CEOs from Nvidia, Apple, Exxon, Boeing and other big companies to accompany the president on his trip to China next week, Semafor reported yesterday.\nExecutives from Qualcomm, Blackstone, Citigroup, and Visa are also on the invitation list, according to the report.\nA person familiar with the matter confirmed that Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser was invited.\nQualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon will attend as long as the trip goes ahead as planned, said a source with knowledge of the matter.\nReuters was not able to confirm the full list of companies invited, but a different source said several CEOs received invitations on Wednesday evening.\nIn an interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said, \"We should let the president announce whatever he decides to announce ... If invited, it would be a privilege, it would be a great honour to represent the US\".\nThe White House, Apple, Citigroup, Exxon and Visa did not respond to requests for comment. Blackstone and Boeing declined to comment.\nThe reporting comes as expectations swirl about possible deals during President Donald Trump's visit next week to Beijing to meet with China's leader Xi Jinping.\nBoeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told Reuters in April the company was counting on the Trump administration to help unlock a long-awaited major order from China.\nChina and the US plane maker have been in prolonged talks for a deal that industry sources say could include 500 737 MAX jets, plus dozens of widebody jets.\nIt would be the country's first major Boeing order since 2017, and any announcement of the order would be viewed as a major win for the leaders' summit.","date_published":"2026-05-08T04:07:47.000Z","author":{"name":"Reuters"},"tags":["World","Top World","Business","World Business","Top Business","Boeing","CEOs","China","Donald Trump","Jensen Huang","NVIDIA","President Xi Jinping","the US"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/d70c7283-13007386_cropped_1.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/d70c7283-13007386_cropped_1.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/hackers-block-access-to-platform-used-by-thousands-of-us-schools","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/hackers-block-access-to-platform-used-by-thousands-of-us-schools","title":"Hackers block access to platform used by thousands of US schools","summary":"The attack, claimed by extortion group ShinyHunters, disrupted access to the Canvas learning platform.","content_html":"![\"CYBER](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c8e8a39b-3-cyber-hacker-envanto-element-pic-210225.webp\")
WASHINGTON: US universities including Harvard, Stanford and thousands of other institutions were hit by a massive cyber hack on Thursday following an earlier data breach.
\nThe attack, claimed by ShinyHunters, a well-known cyber extortion group active since at least 2019, saw access to the Canvas learning platform blocked.
\nAccording to the Harvard Crimson student newspaper and posts on social media, students attempting to access the system on Thursday saw a message from the hacking group saying servers belonging to Canvas’s parent company Instructure had “again” been breached.
\n“Instead of contacting us to resolve it they ignored us and did some ‘security patches,'” the hackers said.
\n“If any of the schools in the affected list are interested in preventing the release of their data, please consult with a cyber advisory firm and contact us privately…to negotiate a settlement.”
\nThe group warned it would release all stolen data if schools did not make contact by May 12.
\nThe message included a link to a list of schools ShinyHunters claims to have breached through Canvas.
\nStanford University said Canvas was “currently unavailable due to an issue being experienced by the vendor,” adding that Instructure had recently disclosed a nationwide information security issue it said had been contained.
\nBut a further outage was now affecting Canvas customers including Stanford and “numerous other educational institutions nationwide,” the university added.
\nInstructure said the stolen data in the original breach included personal details such as names, email addresses and student ID numbers, along with private messages exchanged between users.
\n","content_text":"WASHINGTON: US universities including Harvard, Stanford and thousands of other institutions were hit by a massive cyber hack on Thursday following an earlier data breach.\nThe attack, claimed by ShinyHunters, a well-known cyber extortion group active since at least 2019, saw access to the Canvas learning platform blocked.\nAccording to the Harvard Crimson student newspaper and posts on social media, students attempting to access the system on Thursday saw a message from the hacking group saying servers belonging to Canvas's parent company Instructure had \"again\" been breached.\n\"Instead of contacting us to resolve it they ignored us and did some 'security patches,'\" the hackers said.\n\"If any of the schools in the affected list are interested in preventing the release of their data, please consult with a cyber advisory firm and contact us privately...to negotiate a settlement.\"\nThe group warned it would release all stolen data if schools did not make contact by May 12.\nThe message included a link to a list of schools ShinyHunters claims to have breached through Canvas.\nStanford University said Canvas was \"currently unavailable due to an issue being experienced by the vendor,\" adding that Instructure had recently disclosed a nationwide information security issue it said had been contained.\nBut a further outage was now affecting Canvas customers including Stanford and \"numerous other educational institutions nationwide,\" the university added.\nInstructure said the stolen data in the original breach included personal details such as names, email addresses and student ID numbers, along with private messages exchanged between users.","date_published":"2026-05-08T02:43:48.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","access","block","Computers","cybercrime","hackers","platform","schools","to","US"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c8e8a39b-3-cyber-hacker-envanto-element-pic-210225.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c8e8a39b-3-cyber-hacker-envanto-element-pic-210225.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/us-imposes-sanctions-on-cuban-military-conglomerate-mining-joint-venture","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/us-imposes-sanctions-on-cuban-military-conglomerate-mining-joint-venture","title":"US imposes sanctions on Cuban military conglomerate, mining joint venture","summary":"Financial sanctions were imposed on a business conglomerate run by Cuba’s military and a Cuban-Canadian mining joint venture.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/c1fb4fb5-afp__20260318__a3pf7cr__v1__highres__combocubauscrisisdiplomacy_cropped_2_1_cropped.webp\")
WASHINGTON: The US imposed financial sanctions on a sprawling business conglomerate run by Cuba’s military and a Cuban-Canadian mining joint venture, as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on the island’s communist leaders by targeting sources of foreign investment.
\nAfter the military raid to seize the leader of longtime Cuban ally Venezuela in January, US President Donald Trump has said that “Cuba is next,” and blocked most oil shipments to the country, laying siege to the island’s government and dramatically worsening blackouts.
\nTrump last week signed an executive order broadening US sanctions against Cuba, a move President Miguel Diaz-Canel decried as “coercive.”
\nUnder that order, state secretary Marco Rubio said the Trump administration was targeting Grupo de Administracion Empresarial SA (GAESA), the military conglomerate that US officials say controls at least 40% of Cuba’s economy, and its Executive President Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera.
\nRubio accused Cuba’s government of providing a platform for the intelligence operations of nations hostile to the US, allegations Cuba denies.
\nThe measures also targeted Moa Nickel SA, a joint venture between Toronto-based Sherritt International Corp and Cuba’s state-owned nickel company, which mines nickel and cobalt, Rubio said in a statement, undercutting one of Cuba’s key sources of foreign exchange.
\nThe Trump administration has also sharply restricted US travel and remittances to the island and moved to dissuade regional allies from contracting Cuban doctors, a long-standing programme that Cuba promotes in the name of solidarity but that is also a top source of hard currency.
\n“With Sherritt suspending operations, the US has now effectively targeted all of Cuba’s main sources of hard currency,” said Paolo Spadoni, an expert on the Cuban economy at Augusta University.
\nSherritt – among the last companies to operate on a large scale in Cuba despite punishing US sanctions – said in a statement on its website on Thursday that it had suspended its direct participation in joint venture activities in Cuba, effective immediately.
\nCuba’s foreign ministry called the fresh US sanctions “an act of ruthless economic aggression” and said they violated international law.
\n“We urge the international community to confront this … dangerous escalation in the US’ desire to exert domination and control over Cuba’s destiny,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
\nUS demands
\nThe US has for decades demanded Cuba open its state-run economy, pay reparations for properties expropriated by the government of former leader Fidel Castro and hold “free and fair” elections.
\nCuba has said its form of socialist government is not up for negotiation.
\nTop Cuban officials accuse Washington of “hinting at a military action” to “liberate” Cuba, and say decades of US sanctions against the island’s government are the root cause of its economic and social woes.
\nRubio earlier this week held talks with military officials at the US Southern Command in Florida, which oversees US operations in the Caribbean region.
\nHe was photographed shaking hands with its commander, General Frank Donovan, standing before a map of Cuba.
\n“Today’s sanctions demonstrate that the Trump Administration will not stand by while Cuba’s communist regime threatens our national security in our hemisphere,” Rubio said on X.
\n“We will continue to take action until the regime takes all necessary political and economic reforms,” he said.
\nThe sanctions came shortly after Rubio held talks at the Vatican with Pope Leo, who has raised concerns about rising tensions between the US and Cuba and called for dialogue.
\nUN experts said yesterday Trump’s fuel blockade on Cuba amounts to “energy starvation” with grave consequences for the Caribbean island nation’s development and human rights.
\n","content_text":"WASHINGTON: The US imposed financial sanctions on a sprawling business conglomerate run by Cuba's military and a Cuban-Canadian mining joint venture, as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on the island's communist leaders by targeting sources of foreign investment.\nAfter the military raid to seize the leader of longtime Cuban ally Venezuela in January, US President Donald Trump has said that \"Cuba is next,\" and blocked most oil shipments to the country, laying siege to the island's government and dramatically worsening blackouts.\nTrump last week signed an executive order broadening US sanctions against Cuba, a move President Miguel Diaz-Canel decried as \"coercive.\"\nUnder that order, state secretary Marco Rubio said the Trump administration was targeting Grupo de Administracion Empresarial SA (GAESA), the military conglomerate that US officials say controls at least 40% of Cuba's economy, and its Executive President Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera.\nRubio accused Cuba's government of providing a platform for the intelligence operations of nations hostile to the US, allegations Cuba denies.\nThe measures also targeted Moa Nickel SA, a joint venture between Toronto-based Sherritt International Corp and Cuba's state-owned nickel company, which mines nickel and cobalt, Rubio said in a statement, undercutting one of Cuba's key sources of foreign exchange.\nThe Trump administration has also sharply restricted US travel and remittances to the island and moved to dissuade regional allies from contracting Cuban doctors, a long-standing programme that Cuba promotes in the name of solidarity but that is also a top source of hard currency.\n\"With Sherritt suspending operations, the US has now effectively targeted all of Cuba's main sources of hard currency,\" said Paolo Spadoni, an expert on the Cuban economy at Augusta University.\nSherritt - among the last companies to operate on a large scale in Cuba despite punishing US sanctions - said in a statement on its website on Thursday that it had suspended its direct participation in joint venture activities in Cuba, effective immediately.\nCuba's foreign ministry called the fresh US sanctions \"an act of ruthless economic aggression\" and said they violated international law.\n\"We urge the international community to confront this ... dangerous escalation in the US' desire to exert domination and control over Cuba's destiny,\" the foreign ministry said in a statement.\nUS demands \nThe US has for decades demanded Cuba open its state-run economy, pay reparations for properties expropriated by the government of former leader Fidel Castro and hold \"free and fair\" elections.\nCuba has said its form of socialist government is not up for negotiation.\nTop Cuban officials accuse Washington of \"hinting at a military action\" to \"liberate\" Cuba, and say decades of US sanctions against the island's government are the root cause of its economic and social woes.\nRubio earlier this week held talks with military officials at the US Southern Command in Florida, which oversees US operations in the Caribbean region.\nHe was photographed shaking hands with its commander, General Frank Donovan, standing before a map of Cuba.\n\"Today’s sanctions demonstrate that the Trump Administration will not stand by while Cuba’s communist regime threatens our national security in our hemisphere,\" Rubio said on X.\n\"We will continue to take action until the regime takes all necessary political and economic reforms,\" he said.\nThe sanctions came shortly after Rubio held talks at the Vatican with Pope Leo, who has raised concerns about rising tensions between the US and Cuba and called for dialogue.\nUN experts said yesterday Trump's fuel blockade on Cuba amounts to \"energy starvation\" with grave consequences for the Caribbean island nation's development and human rights.","date_published":"2026-05-08T02:12:04.000Z","author":{"name":"Reuters"},"tags":["World","Top World","cuba","Cuban-Canadian","energy","financial sanctions","fuel","joint venture","marco rubio","military","mining","the US","UN","Venezuela"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/c1fb4fb5-afp__20260318__a3pf7cr__v1__highres__combocubauscrisisdiplomacy_cropped_2_1_cropped.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/c1fb4fb5-afp__20260318__a3pf7cr__v1__highres__combocubauscrisisdiplomacy_cropped_2_1_cropped.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/is-linked-australian-women-charged-with-keeping-slave-in-syria","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/is-linked-australian-women-charged-with-keeping-slave-in-syria","title":"IS-linked Australian women charged with keeping slave in Syria","summary":"The pair were immediately arrested after their Qatar Airways flight landed at Melbourne International airport.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/95596474-afp__20260507__b24e3nh__v1__highres__australiasyriapoliticsrights_cropped_1.webp\")
SYDNEY: Two Australian women “kept a female slave” after travelling to Syria in 2014 to support the Islamic State (IS) group, police said today after they were charged in Melbourne.
\nThe pair returned to Australia yesterday evening for the first time in almost a decade, travelling from a Syrian detention camp where they were stranded after the group’s collapse.
\nThey were immediately arrested after their Qatar Airways flight landed at Melbourne International airport.
\nPolice accused the women – a mother and daughter aged 53 and 31 — of “crimes against humanity” while living under IS’s self-declared caliphate.
\n“The 53-year-old woman was “complicit in the purchase of a female slave for US$10,000,” the Australian Federal Police said.
\nThe 31-year-old woman had “knowingly kept a female slave in the home”.
\nThey were detained by Kurdish forces in 2019 as the IS caliphate collapsed, police said, and were held in Syria’s notorious Roj camp.
\n“This remains an active investigation into very serious allegations,” police counter-terror boss Stephen Nutt said.
\nIn total, four women and their nine children flew back to Australia from Syria yesterday night.
\nJanai Safar, 32, was separately arrested after touching down in Sydney and has been charged with entering a restricted area, and joining a “terrorist organisation”.
\n‘Horrific choice’
\n“Safar travelled to Syria in 2015 to join her husband, who was a member of the IS group,” police said.
\nA fourth woman travelling with the group was not arrested.
\nAs IS rose to power in the early 2010s, Australia made it an offence to travel to strongholds such as Raqqa province in Syria.
\nHundreds of women from Western nations were lured to the Middle East as the IS group gained prominence in the early 2010s, in many cases following husbands who had signed up as jihadist fighters.
\nAustralia, Canada, the UK and others are still grappling with how to treat citizens stranded after the group collapsed.
\nWidely known as the “ISIS brides”, the case has stirred strong feelings in Australia.
\nAustralia’s Human Rights Commission urged the government in March to help repatriate 34 women and children stuck in Syria’s notorious Roj detention camp.
\nHowever, others have accused the women of turning their back on Australia and believe they should be left to face the consequences.
\nHome affairs minister Tony Burke has accused the four returning Australian women of making “a horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation”.
\nThey are not the first Australian citizens to return from Syria’s refugee camps.
\nSmall groups of women and children flew back to Australia in 2019, 2022 and 2025.
\n","content_text":"SYDNEY: Two Australian women \"kept a female slave\" after travelling to Syria in 2014 to support the Islamic State (IS) group, police said today after they were charged in Melbourne.\nThe pair returned to Australia yesterday evening for the first time in almost a decade, travelling from a Syrian detention camp where they were stranded after the group's collapse.\nThey were immediately arrested after their Qatar Airways flight landed at Melbourne International airport.\nPolice accused the women - a mother and daughter aged 53 and 31 - of \"crimes against humanity\" while living under IS's self-declared caliphate.\n\"The 53-year-old woman was \"complicit in the purchase of a female slave for US$10,000,\" the Australian Federal Police said.\nThe 31-year-old woman had \"knowingly kept a female slave in the home\".\nThey were detained by Kurdish forces in 2019 as the IS caliphate collapsed, police said, and were held in Syria's notorious Roj camp.\n\"This remains an active investigation into very serious allegations,\" police counter-terror boss Stephen Nutt said.\nIn total, four women and their nine children flew back to Australia from Syria yesterday night.\nJanai Safar, 32, was separately arrested after touching down in Sydney and has been charged with entering a restricted area, and joining a \"terrorist organisation\".\n'Horrific choice' \n\"Safar travelled to Syria in 2015 to join her husband, who was a member of the IS group,\" police said.\nA fourth woman travelling with the group was not arrested.\nAs IS rose to power in the early 2010s, Australia made it an offence to travel to strongholds such as Raqqa province in Syria.\nHundreds of women from Western nations were lured to the Middle East as the IS group gained prominence in the early 2010s, in many cases following husbands who had signed up as jihadist fighters.\nAustralia, Canada, the UK and others are still grappling with how to treat citizens stranded after the group collapsed.\nWidely known as the \"ISIS brides\", the case has stirred strong feelings in Australia.\nAustralia's Human Rights Commission urged the government in March to help repatriate 34 women and children stuck in Syria's notorious Roj detention camp.\nHowever, others have accused the women of turning their back on Australia and believe they should be left to face the consequences.\nHome affairs minister Tony Burke has accused the four returning Australian women of making \"a horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation\".\nThey are not the first Australian citizens to return from Syria's refugee camps.\nSmall groups of women and children flew back to Australia in 2019, 2022 and 2025.","date_published":"2026-05-08T01:23:29.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","Australia","detention camp","IS","Middle East","slaves","Syria","terrorist","women"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/95596474-afp__20260507__b24e3nh__v1__highres__australiasyriapoliticsrights_cropped_1.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/95596474-afp__20260507__b24e3nh__v1__highres__australiasyriapoliticsrights_cropped_1.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/05/08/us-trade-court-rules-against-trumps-global-10-tariff","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/05/08/us-trade-court-rules-against-trumps-global-10-tariff","title":"US trade court rules against Trump’s global 10% tariff","summary":"The 2–1 ruling by the US court of international trade blocks the tariffs from being implemented against two companies and the state of Washington.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/9edd993f-afp__20250402__38vu89f__v3__midres__trumpdeliversremarksonreciprocaltariffs_1_cropped_1.webp\")
WASHINGTON: A US trade court on Thursday dealt President Donald Trump a fresh setback, ruling against the 10% global tariffs he instituted after the Supreme Court struck down many earlier duties.
\nThe 2-1 ruling by the US court of international trade, for now, blocks the tariffs from being implemented against just two companies and the state of Washington – but it could open doors to further such outcomes.
\nThe decision found that the latest duty was not justified under the 1970s law cited in its implementation.
\nTrump imposed the temporary 10% duty in February, shortly after the Supreme Court struck down many of his global tariffs.
\nThe new tariff was meant to deal with balance of payments deficits, citing Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.
\nIt lasts only until late-July, unless extended by Congress, but the Trump administration has in the meantime been pursuing more lasting means to rebuild his trade agenda.
\nTo do so, US officials have opened new investigations into dozens of trading partners over forced labor and overcapacity concerns – which could lead to fresh tariffs or other action.
\nThe court of international trade ruling on Thursday ordered defendants to implement the decision within five days, and for the importers who sued in this case to receive refunds.
\nThe Trump administration could appeal the trade court’s decision.
\n“Section 122 was passed in response to a specific historical crisis that resulted in the US’s currency and gold reserves being depleted,” said Liberty Justice Center senior counsel Jeffrey Schwab after the ruling.
\n“The US has a trade deficit, not a balance-of-payments deficit, and does not have international payments problem,” Schwab said in a statement.
\nTrump’s sector-specific tariffs on goods like steel, aluminum and autos remain unaffected by these legal challenges.
\nYet, Thursday’s ruling marks the latest complication in Trump’s tariffs agenda.
\nSince the high court dealt a sharp blow to Trump’s economic policy, businesses have also rushed for refunds.
\nUS Customs and Border Protection estimated in March that more than 330,000 importers could be eligible for refunds after the Supreme Court’s decision.
\nThe tariffs that were earlier struck down, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, collected approximately US$166 billion in duties and estimated deposits.
\n","content_text":"WASHINGTON: A US trade court on Thursday dealt President Donald Trump a fresh setback, ruling against the 10% global tariffs he instituted after the Supreme Court struck down many earlier duties.\nThe 2-1 ruling by the US court of international trade, for now, blocks the tariffs from being implemented against just two companies and the state of Washington - but it could open doors to further such outcomes.\nThe decision found that the latest duty was not justified under the 1970s law cited in its implementation.\nTrump imposed the temporary 10% duty in February, shortly after the Supreme Court struck down many of his global tariffs.\nThe new tariff was meant to deal with balance of payments deficits, citing Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.\nIt lasts only until late-July, unless extended by Congress, but the Trump administration has in the meantime been pursuing more lasting means to rebuild his trade agenda.\nTo do so, US officials have opened new investigations into dozens of trading partners over forced labor and overcapacity concerns - which could lead to fresh tariffs or other action.\nThe court of international trade ruling on Thursday ordered defendants to implement the decision within five days, and for the importers who sued in this case to receive refunds.\nThe Trump administration could appeal the trade court's decision.\n\"Section 122 was passed in response to a specific historical crisis that resulted in the US's currency and gold reserves being depleted,\" said Liberty Justice Center senior counsel Jeffrey Schwab after the ruling.\n\"The US has a trade deficit, not a balance-of-payments deficit, and does not have international payments problem,\" Schwab said in a statement.\nTrump's sector-specific tariffs on goods like steel, aluminum and autos remain unaffected by these legal challenges.\nYet, Thursday's ruling marks the latest complication in Trump's tariffs agenda.\nSince the high court dealt a sharp blow to Trump's economic policy, businesses have also rushed for refunds.\nUS Customs and Border Protection estimated in March that more than 330,000 importers could be eligible for refunds after the Supreme Court's decision.\nThe tariffs that were earlier struck down, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, collected approximately US$166 billion in duties and estimated deposits.","date_published":"2026-05-08T00:08:13.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","Business","World Business","Top Business","Donald Trump","duties","Supre Court","tariffs","the US","US Customs and Border Protection"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/9edd993f-afp__20250402__38vu89f__v3__midres__trumpdeliversremarksonreciprocaltariffs_1_cropped_1.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/9edd993f-afp__20250402__38vu89f__v3__midres__trumpdeliversremarksonreciprocaltariffs_1_cropped_1.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/us-iran-exchange-fire-but-trump-says-ceasefire-still-in-effect","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/us-iran-exchange-fire-but-trump-says-ceasefire-still-in-effect","title":"US, Iran exchange fire, but Trump says ceasefire still in effect","summary":"US President Donald Trump told an ABC reporter that the ceasefire was still in effect and sought to downplay the exchange.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/5e633411-strait-of-hormuz-03032026.webp\")
WASHINGTON: The US and Iran exchanged fire on Thursday in the most serious test yet of their month-long ceasefire, but Iran said the situation returned to normal while the Americans said they did not want to escalate.
\nIran’s military said the US targeted two ships entering the Strait of Hormuz and carried out strikes on Iranian territory.
\nThe US military said it fired in response to Iranian attacks.
\nTrump told an ABC reporter that the ceasefire was still in effect and sought to downplay the exchange.
\n“It’s just a love tap,” Trump told the reporter, according to her social media post.
\nIranian state media said after the strikes that the situation was back to normal.
\nThe renewed hostilities broke out as Washington was awaiting Iran’s response to a US proposal that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues, such as Iran’s nuclear programme, unresolved for now.
\nThe two sides have occasionally exchanged gunfire since the ceasefire took effect on April 7.
\nIran’s top joint military command accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting an Iranian oil tanker and another ship, and of carrying out air attacks on civilian areas on Qeshm Island in the strait and nearby coastal areas of Bandar Khamir Sirik on the mainland.
\nThe military said it responded by attacking US military vessels east of the Strait of Hormuz and south of the port of Chabahar.
\nA spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the strikes inflicted “significant damage,” but US Central Command said none of its assets were hit.
\nCENTCOM said Iran had used missiles, drones and small boats in the attack, which targeted three Navy destroyers.
\nThe US said it targeted missile and drone sites and other locations in response.
\n“CENTCOM does not seek escalation but remains positioned and ready to protect American forces,” the statement added.
\nIran’s Press TV later reported that following several hours of fire “the situation on Iranian islands and coastal cities by the Strait of Hormuz is back to normal now”.
\nThis is not the first time the two sides have exchanged fire since the ceasefire started.
\nOn Monday, the US military said it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones as Tehran sought to thwart a US naval effort to open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
\nCeasefire under pressure
\nBefore the latest exchanges, the US had floated a proposal to formally end the conflict.
\nHowever, it does not address key US demands that Iran suspend its nuclear work and reopen the strait, which before the war handled one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply.
\nTehran said it had not yet reached a conclusion on the emerging plan.
\nSeparately, the US imposed sanctions on Thursday on Iraq’s deputy oil minister and three militia leaders over what it said was their support for Iran.
\nIsrael, which has also been fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, said on Thursday it had killed a Hezbollah commander in an airstrike on Beirut a day earlier, the first Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital since a ceasefire there was agreed last month.
\nA halt to Israeli strikes in Lebanon is a key Iranian demand in negotiations with Washington.
\n","content_text":"WASHINGTON: The US and Iran exchanged fire on Thursday in the most serious test yet of their month-long ceasefire, but Iran said the situation returned to normal while the Americans said they did not want to escalate.\nIran's military said the US targeted two ships entering the Strait of Hormuz and carried out strikes on Iranian territory.\nThe US military said it fired in response to Iranian attacks.\nTrump told an ABC reporter that the ceasefire was still in effect and sought to downplay the exchange.\n\"It's just a love tap,\" Trump told the reporter, according to her social media post.\nIranian state media said after the strikes that the situation was back to normal.\nThe renewed hostilities broke out as Washington was awaiting Iran's response to a US proposal that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues, such as Iran's nuclear programme, unresolved for now.\nThe two sides have occasionally exchanged gunfire since the ceasefire took effect on April 7.\nIran's top joint military command accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting an Iranian oil tanker and another ship, and of carrying out air attacks on civilian areas on Qeshm Island in the strait and nearby coastal areas of Bandar Khamir Sirik on the mainland.\nThe military said it responded by attacking US military vessels east of the Strait of Hormuz and south of the port of Chabahar.\nA spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the strikes inflicted \"significant damage,\" but US Central Command said none of its assets were hit.\nCENTCOM said Iran had used missiles, drones and small boats in the attack, which targeted three Navy destroyers.\nThe US said it targeted missile and drone sites and other locations in response.\n\"CENTCOM does not seek escalation but remains positioned and ready to protect American forces,\" the statement added.\nIran's Press TV later reported that following several hours of fire \"the situation on Iranian islands and coastal cities by the Strait of Hormuz is back to normal now\".\nThis is not the first time the two sides have exchanged fire since the ceasefire started.\nOn Monday, the US military said it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones as Tehran sought to thwart a US naval effort to open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.\nCeasefire under pressure \nBefore the latest exchanges, the US had floated a proposal to formally end the conflict.\nHowever, it does not address key US demands that Iran suspend its nuclear work and reopen the strait, which before the war handled one-fifth of the world's oil and gas supply.\nTehran said it had not yet reached a conclusion on the emerging plan.\nSeparately, the US imposed sanctions on Thursday on Iraq's deputy oil minister and three militia leaders over what it said was their support for Iran.\nIsrael, which has also been fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, said on Thursday it had killed a Hezbollah commander in an airstrike on Beirut a day earlier, the first Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital since a ceasefire there was agreed last month.\nA halt to Israeli strikes in Lebanon is a key Iranian demand in negotiations with Washington.","date_published":"2026-05-07T23:51:55.000Z","author":{"name":"Reuters"},"tags":["World","Top World","ceasefire","Donald Trump","Iran","Israel","Lebanon","Strait of Hormuz","the US"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/5e633411-strait-of-hormuz-03032026.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/5e633411-strait-of-hormuz-03032026.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/panama-reports-improved-china-relations-following-spat","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/panama-reports-improved-china-relations-following-spat","title":"Panama reports improved China relations following spat","summary":"President Jose Raul Mulino says tensions with China eased after a fraught period in which Beijing was accused of detaining Panamanian-flagged ships in Chinese ports.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/93e1c3ed-11667329_1_1600x1000_1.webp\")
PANAMA CITY: Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino said yesterday tensions with China had reduced, after a fraught period during which Beijing was accused of detaining Panamanian-flagged ships in Chinese ports.
\nThe US and China accuse each other of seeking to control the Panama Canal, a vital trade link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
\nFollowing a decision by the Panamanian Supreme Court in January, Panama took control of two of the canal’s ports previously operated by a Hong Kong-based conglomerate.
\nMulino subsequently reported that the immobilisation of his country’s vessels at Chinese ports had increased “exponentially,” which he likened to retaliation for the ruling.
\nOn Thursday, however, Mulino said the number of detained Panamanian vessels had dropped “somewhat”.
\n“Thanks to reason, that tension, which had escalated sharply, has begun to ease,” Mulino told reporters.
\nHe described a message sent by the Chinese government to Panama seeking a legal solution as “a great step”.
\nSuch squabbles should not be resolved “through detentions in ports,” Mulino said.
\n","content_text":"PANAMA CITY: Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino said yesterday tensions with China had reduced, after a fraught period during which Beijing was accused of detaining Panamanian-flagged ships in Chinese ports.\nThe US and China accuse each other of seeking to control the Panama Canal, a vital trade link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.\nFollowing a decision by the Panamanian Supreme Court in January, Panama took control of two of the canal's ports previously operated by a Hong Kong-based conglomerate.\nMulino subsequently reported that the immobilisation of his country's vessels at Chinese ports had increased \"exponentially,\" which he likened to retaliation for the ruling.\nOn Thursday, however, Mulino said the number of detained Panamanian vessels had dropped \"somewhat\".\n\"Thanks to reason, that tension, which had escalated sharply, has begun to ease,\" Mulino told reporters.\nHe described a message sent by the Chinese government to Panama seeking a legal solution as \"a great step\".\nSuch squabbles should not be resolved \"through detentions in ports,\" Mulino said.","date_published":"2026-05-07T23:30:41.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["World","Top World","China","government","Hong Kong","Jose Raul Mulino","Panama","Panama Canal","ports","Supreme Court","the US"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/93e1c3ed-11667329_1_1600x1000_1.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/93e1c3ed-11667329_1_1600x1000_1.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/russian-foreign-ministry-summons-armenias-envoy-over-zelenskys-war-commemoration-comments","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/russian-foreign-ministry-summons-armenias-envoy-over-zelenskys-war-commemoration-comments","title":"Russia summons Armenia’s envoy over Zelensky’s war commemoration comments","summary":"The foreign ministry told the Armenian ambassador that it was 'absolutely inadmissible' to allow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to voice 'terrorist threats against Russia'.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/b867b12f-11245958_cropped.webp\")
MOSCOW: The Russian foreign ministry said today it summoned the Armenian ambassador over what it described as “terrorist threats against Russia” voiced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit to Armenia.
\nA ministry statement said the ambassador was told it was “absolutely inadmissible” to provide the means, during an EU-sponsored gathering on Monday for “the ringleader of the Kyiv Nazi regime, V Zelensky, to voice terrorist threats against Russia” in connection with Russia’s Victory Day commemorations.
\nThe statement said there was “justified indignation” in Moscow over Zelensky’s “outrageous behaviour” and the absence of Armenian criticism.
\nRussia’s defence ministry had earlier responded to what it saw as threats by Zelensky by saying Moscow’s military would launch a retaliatory strike against Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted ceremonies marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.
\nForeign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova doubled down on that statement, telling diplomatic missions to take Moscow’s warnings seriously and evacuate their staff in good time.
\nIn his comments in Armenia, Zelensky noted that Moscow had said its commemorative parade would proceed without displays of military hardware, adding: “It will be the first time in many, many years they cannot afford military equipment and they fear drones may buzz over Red Square. This is telling”.
\n","content_text":"MOSCOW: The Russian foreign ministry said today it summoned the Armenian ambassador over what it described as \"terrorist threats against Russia\" voiced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit to Armenia.\nA ministry statement said the ambassador was told it was \"absolutely inadmissible\" to provide the means, during an EU-sponsored gathering on Monday for \"the ringleader of the Kyiv Nazi regime, V Zelensky, to voice terrorist threats against Russia\" in connection with Russia's Victory Day commemorations.\nThe statement said there was \"justified indignation\" in Moscow over Zelensky's \"outrageous behaviour\" and the absence of Armenian criticism.\nRussia's defence ministry had earlier responded to what it saw as threats by Zelensky by saying Moscow's military would launch a retaliatory strike against Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted ceremonies marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.\nForeign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova doubled down on that statement, telling diplomatic missions to take Moscow's warnings seriously and evacuate their staff in good time.\nIn his comments in Armenia, Zelensky noted that Moscow had said its commemorative parade would proceed without displays of military hardware, adding: \"It will be the first time in many, many years they cannot afford military equipment and they fear drones may buzz over Red Square. This is telling\".","date_published":"2026-05-07T23:03:00.000Z","author":{"name":"Reuters"},"tags":["World","Top World","Armenian ambassador","Foreign Ministry","Russia","terrorist","Ukraine","Victory Day commemorations","Volodymyr Zelensky"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/b867b12f-11245958_cropped.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/b867b12f-11245958_cropped.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/08/trump-says-he-would-not-pay-us1000-to-watch-us-at-world-cup","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/08/trump-says-he-would-not-pay-us1000-to-watch-us-at-world-cup","title":"Trump says he would not pay US$1,000 to watch US at World Cup","summary":"US lawmakers and international fan groups have criticised FIFA over ticket pricing for the tournament starting in June.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/7fa7fb3a-donald-trump-06052026.webp\")
NEW YORK: President Donald Trump said in an interview published Thursday that he would not pay the US$1,000-plus ticket price for the United States’ first World Cup match, piling pressure on FIFA over its sky-high costs.
\n“I did not know that number,” the billionaire Trump told the New York Post, adding “I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you.”
\nUS lawmakers and international fan groups have slammed FIFA over its pricing structure for the tournament that kicks off in June, with Football Supporters Europe branding it a “monumental betrayal.”
\nTrump appeared concerned that lower-income Americans — a key voting bloc for him — would be priced out of attending the World Cup.
\n“If people from Queens and Brooklyn and all of the people that love Donald Trump can’t go, I would be disappointed, but, you know, at the same time, it’s an amazing success.”
\n“I would like to be able to have the people that voted for me to be able to go,” added Trump, who takes credit for securing the World Cup for the United States during his first term as president.
\nTrump is close to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who on Tuesday insisted the governing body was obliged to take advantage of US laws that allow tickets to be resold for thousands of dollars above face value.
\nHe said that FIFA received over 500 million ticket requests for 2026, compared with fewer than 50 million combined for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
\nThe FIFA leader added that 25 percent of tickets for the group phase were priced at under US$300.
\nFan groups have contrasted the tickets for this summer with the Qatar World Cup in 2022.
\nThe most expensive ticket for the final in 2022 was around US$1,600 at face value, while in 2026 it is about US$11,000.
\n","content_text":"NEW YORK: President Donald Trump said in an interview published Thursday that he would not pay the US$1,000-plus ticket price for the United States' first World Cup match, piling pressure on FIFA over its sky-high costs.\n\"I did not know that number,\" the billionaire Trump told the New York Post, adding \"I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn't pay it either, to be honest with you.\"\nUS lawmakers and international fan groups have slammed FIFA over its pricing structure for the tournament that kicks off in June, with Football Supporters Europe branding it a \"monumental betrayal.\"\nTrump appeared concerned that lower-income Americans - a key voting bloc for him - would be priced out of attending the World Cup.\n\"If people from Queens and Brooklyn and all of the people that love Donald Trump can't go, I would be disappointed, but, you know, at the same time, it’s an amazing success.\"\n\"I would like to be able to have the people that voted for me to be able to go,\" added Trump, who takes credit for securing the World Cup for the United States during his first term as president.\nTrump is close to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who on Tuesday insisted the governing body was obliged to take advantage of US laws that allow tickets to be resold for thousands of dollars above face value.\nHe said that FIFA received over 500 million ticket requests for 2026, compared with fewer than 50 million combined for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.\nThe FIFA leader added that 25 percent of tickets for the group phase were priced at under US$300.\nFan groups have contrasted the tickets for this summer with the Qatar World Cup in 2022.\nThe most expensive ticket for the final in 2022 was around US$1,600 at face value, while in 2026 it is about US$11,000.","date_published":"2026-05-07T22:58:59.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["Highlight","World","Top World","Sports","Football","Top Sports","000.","pay","tickets","Trump","US","US$1","watch","World cup","would not"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/7fa7fb3a-donald-trump-06052026.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/7fa7fb3a-donald-trump-06052026.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/us-targets-iraqi-oil-official-militias-with-sanctions-for-aiding-iran","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/05/08/us-targets-iraqi-oil-official-militias-with-sanctions-for-aiding-iran","title":"US targets Iraqi oil official, militias with sanctions for aiding Iran","summary":"The US treasury accuses Iraq’s deputy minister Ali Maarij Al-Bahadly of abusing his position to facilitate oil diversion for the benefit of the Iranian regime.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/47b071d8-scott-bessent.webp\")
WASHINGTON: The US imposed sanctions yesterday on Iraq’s deputy oil minister and militias over support for Iran, the treasury department said.
\nThe treasury department accused Iraq’s deputy minister Ali Maarij Al-Bahadly of abusing “his position to facilitate the diversion of oil to be sold for the benefit of the Iranian regime and its proxy militias in Iraq”.
\nIt said Maarij enabled an Iran-affiliated oil smuggler to mix Iranian oil with Iraqi oil before being shipped to global markets and falsified documents that helped Iranian-affiliated networks to sell the mix disguised as purely Iraqi oil.
\nIt said Maarij authorised trucking several million dollars’ worth of oil per day from Iraq’s Qayyarah oil field for export, helping Iranian networks.
\nIraq’s oil ministry and the deputy minister did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
\nIn March, Iraq’s oil minister, Hayan Abdel-Ghani, said Iranian oil tankers stopped by US forces in the Gulf were using forged Iraqi documents. Tehran denied using such documents.
\nThe move to sanction the deputy minister comes as the US and Iran edge toward a temporary agreement to halt the war, with Tehran reviewing a proposal that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues unresolved.
\n“The US treasury is also sanctioning three senior leaders of Iran-aligned militias Kata’ib Sayyid Al-Shuhada and Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq,” it said.
\n“Treasury will not stand idly by as Iran’s military exploits Iraqi oil to fund terrorism against the US and our partners,” treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
\nThe sanctions freeze any US assets of those targeted and generally bar Americans from dealing with them.
\n","content_text":"WASHINGTON: The US imposed sanctions yesterday on Iraq's deputy oil minister and militias over support for Iran, the treasury department said.\nThe treasury department accused Iraq's deputy minister Ali Maarij Al-Bahadly of abusing \"his position to facilitate the diversion of oil to be sold for the benefit of the Iranian regime and its proxy militias in Iraq\".\nIt said Maarij enabled an Iran-affiliated oil smuggler to mix Iranian oil with Iraqi oil before being shipped to global markets and falsified documents that helped Iranian-affiliated networks to sell the mix disguised as purely Iraqi oil.\nIt said Maarij authorised trucking several million dollars’ worth of oil per day from Iraq's Qayyarah oil field for export, helping Iranian networks.\nIraq's oil ministry and the deputy minister did not immediately respond to requests for comment.\nIn March, Iraq's oil minister, Hayan Abdel-Ghani, said Iranian oil tankers stopped by US forces in the Gulf were using forged Iraqi documents. Tehran denied using such documents.\nThe move to sanction the deputy minister comes as the US and Iran edge toward a temporary agreement to halt the war, with Tehran reviewing a proposal that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues unresolved.\n“The US treasury is also sanctioning three senior leaders of Iran-aligned militias Kata’ib Sayyid Al-Shuhada and Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq,” it said.\n“Treasury will not stand idly by as Iran's military exploits Iraqi oil to fund terrorism against the US and our partners,” treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.\nThe sanctions freeze any US assets of those targeted and generally bar Americans from dealing with them.","date_published":"2026-05-07T22:31:44.000Z","author":{"name":"Reuters"},"tags":["World","Top World","Ali Maarij Al-Bahadly","Iran","Iraq","militias","officials","oil and gas","sanctions","the US","US Treasury"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/47b071d8-scott-bessent.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/47b071d8-scott-bessent.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/08/who-warns-of-more-hantavirus-cases-in-limited-outbreak","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/08/who-warns-of-more-hantavirus-cases-in-limited-outbreak","title":"WHO warns of more hantavirus cases in ‘limited’ outbreak","summary":"The World Health Organization says the disease will remain a limited outbreak if public health measures are implemented and solidarity is shown across all countries.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/31152d9e-afp__20260506__a9yr2t4__v2__highres__topshotcapeverdehealthtourism_cropped_1_1.webp\")
GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday that more hantavirus cases could emerge after the disease killed three passengers from a cruise ship, but it expected the outbreak to be limited if precautions were taken.
\nAnother sick passenger from the MV Hondius landed in Europe earlier in the day, as the vessel headed to the Spanish Canary Islands and health officials scrambled to map the outbreak of the potentially deadly human-to-human strain.
\nThe fate of the Hondius sparked international alarm after three people travelling on it died, though health officials have played down fears of a wider global outbreak from the rat-borne virus, which is less contagious than Covid-19.
\nWHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists in Geneva that five confirmed and three suspected cases had been reported overall, including the three deaths.
\n“Given the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks, it’s possible that more cases may be reported,” he said, referring to the rare strain detected aboard the Hondius, which can be transmitted between humans.
\nThe Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands later announced another patient had tested positive.
\nHowever, the WHO’s emergency alert and response director Abdi Rahman Mahamud insisted: “We believe this will be a limited outbreak if the public health measures are implemented and solidarity shown across all countries”.
\nPeople thought to have contracted the virus are being treated or isolating in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and South Africa.
\nRare disease
\nHantavirus is a rare respiratory disease that is usually spread from infected rodents and can cause respiratory and cardiac distress as well as haemorrhagic fevers. There are no vaccines and no known cure for it.
\nA passenger is thought to have contracted the virus before boarding the ship in Argentina and eventually infected others on board as it sailed across the Atlantic.
\nThree evacuees were whisked away from the ship on Wednesday when it anchored off Cape Verde and a fourth landed on Thursday in Amsterdam, said the vessel’s operator, Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions.
\n“No symptomatic individuals are present on board” the ship at the moment, as it sails toward the Spanish island of Tenerife, it said in a statement.
\nThe ship is scheduled to arrive there on Sunday and those on board evacuated.
\nThe ship’s Dutch operator Oceanwide Expeditions said there were 149 people on the ship, including 88 passengers.
\nTwo people who returned to the UK from the ship have been advised to self-isolate, the UK Health Security Agency said, adding they were asymptomatic and insisting the risk to the public was “very low”.
\nOfficials in Argentina said they planned to test rodents in the coastal city of Ushuaia, from where the ship had set sail on April 1.
\nFirst case
\nA Dutch man who had boarded in Ushuaia along with his wife died aboard the ship on April 11.
\n“The man’s body was taken off the ship on April 24 in Saint Helena, an island in the south Atlantic where 29 other passengers disembarked,” the ship’s operator said.
\nIt said it was working to trace all passengers and crew who got on or off the ship since March 20.
\nGhebreyesus said the WHO had informed 12 countries that its nationals disembarked from the cruise ship on Saint Helena.
\nThe deceased man’s wife, who left the ship to accompany his body to South Africa, died there 15 days later after also falling ill, with hantavirus confirmed as the cause on May 4.
\n“The couple had visited Chile, Uruguay and Argentina before the cruise,” Argentine officials said.
\nChile’s health ministry said the two passengers who died were not infected in that country as they travelled there at “a period that does not correspond to the incubation time”.
\nThe WHO says the incubation period for hantavirus can be up to six weeks.
\nThe Dutch woman had flown on a commercial plane from the island of Saint Helena to Johannesburg while she was showing symptoms.
\nOfficials were trying to trace people on that flight, which South African-based carrier Airlink said was carrying 82 passengers and six crew.
\nA German passenger died on May 2. Her body remains on the ship.
\n","content_text":"GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday that more hantavirus cases could emerge after the disease killed three passengers from a cruise ship, but it expected the outbreak to be limited if precautions were taken.\nAnother sick passenger from the MV Hondius landed in Europe earlier in the day, as the vessel headed to the Spanish Canary Islands and health officials scrambled to map the outbreak of the potentially deadly human-to-human strain.\nThe fate of the Hondius sparked international alarm after three people travelling on it died, though health officials have played down fears of a wider global outbreak from the rat-borne virus, which is less contagious than Covid-19.\nWHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists in Geneva that five confirmed and three suspected cases had been reported overall, including the three deaths.\n\"Given the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks, it's possible that more cases may be reported,\" he said, referring to the rare strain detected aboard the Hondius, which can be transmitted between humans.\nThe Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands later announced another patient had tested positive.\nHowever, the WHO's emergency alert and response director Abdi Rahman Mahamud insisted: \"We believe this will be a limited outbreak if the public health measures are implemented and solidarity shown across all countries\".\nPeople thought to have contracted the virus are being treated or isolating in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and South Africa.\nRare disease\nHantavirus is a rare respiratory disease that is usually spread from infected rodents and can cause respiratory and cardiac distress as well as haemorrhagic fevers. There are no vaccines and no known cure for it.\nA passenger is thought to have contracted the virus before boarding the ship in Argentina and eventually infected others on board as it sailed across the Atlantic.\nThree evacuees were whisked away from the ship on Wednesday when it anchored off Cape Verde and a fourth landed on Thursday in Amsterdam, said the vessel's operator, Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions.\n\"No symptomatic individuals are present on board\" the ship at the moment, as it sails toward the Spanish island of Tenerife, it said in a statement.\nThe ship is scheduled to arrive there on Sunday and those on board evacuated.\nThe ship's Dutch operator Oceanwide Expeditions said there were 149 people on the ship, including 88 passengers.\nTwo people who returned to the UK from the ship have been advised to self-isolate, the UK Health Security Agency said, adding they were asymptomatic and insisting the risk to the public was \"very low\".\nOfficials in Argentina said they planned to test rodents in the coastal city of Ushuaia, from where the ship had set sail on April 1.\nFirst case\nA Dutch man who had boarded in Ushuaia along with his wife died aboard the ship on April 11.\n“The man's body was taken off the ship on April 24 in Saint Helena, an island in the south Atlantic where 29 other passengers disembarked,” the ship's operator said.\nIt said it was working to trace all passengers and crew who got on or off the ship since March 20.\nGhebreyesus said the WHO had informed 12 countries that its nationals disembarked from the cruise ship on Saint Helena.\nThe deceased man's wife, who left the ship to accompany his body to South Africa, died there 15 days later after also falling ill, with hantavirus confirmed as the cause on May 4.\n“The couple had visited Chile, Uruguay and Argentina before the cruise,” Argentine officials said.\nChile's health ministry said the two passengers who died were not infected in that country as they travelled there at \"a period that does not correspond to the incubation time\".\nThe WHO says the incubation period for hantavirus can be up to six weeks.\nThe Dutch woman had flown on a commercial plane from the island of Saint Helena to Johannesburg while she was showing symptoms.\nOfficials were trying to trace people on that flight, which South African-based carrier Airlink said was carrying 82 passengers and six crew.\nA German passenger died on May 2. Her body remains on the ship.","date_published":"2026-05-07T22:15:15.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["Highlight","World","Top World","cruise ship","disease","hantavirus","MV Hondius","passengers","WHO"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/31152d9e-afp__20260506__a9yr2t4__v2__highres__topshotcapeverdehealthtourism_cropped_1_1.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/31152d9e-afp__20260506__a9yr2t4__v2__highres__topshotcapeverdehealthtourism_cropped_1_1.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/08/after-beirut-strike-netanyahu-says-no-immunity-for-militants","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/08/after-beirut-strike-netanyahu-says-no-immunity-for-militants","title":"After Beirut strike, Netanyahu says ‘no immunity’ for militants","summary":"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a strike killed a Hezbollah commander who directed attacks against Israeli forces from a secret headquarters in Beirut.","content_html":"![\"Beirut](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/a6b80dae-beirut_airstrike.webp\")
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday there was no “immunity” for Israel’s enemies, a day after the Israeli military targeted a Hezbollah commander in its first strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs since a ceasefire declared last month.
\nIsrael said the attack killed the commander of the Iran-backed group’s elite Radwan force.
\nHezbollah, which controls Beirut’s southern suburbs, has yet to issue any statement on the strike or the commander’s status.
\n“He likely read in the press that he had immunity in Beirut. Well, he read it and it is no longer the case,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
\nHostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reignited on March 2 when the group opened fire at Israel after Tehran came under US-Israeli attack.
\nWednesday’s strike raises pressure on the Lebanon ceasefire that emerged in parallel to a truce in the wider Middle East war, with a halt to Israeli strikes in Lebanon being a key Iranian demand in Tehran’s negotiations with Washington.
\nAnnounced on April 16 by US President Donald Trump, the Lebanon ceasefire has led to a reduction in hostilities: the Beirut area was not struck by Israel for weeks before Wednesday’s attack.
\nHowever, the sides have continued to trade blows in the south, where Israel has carved out a self-declared security zone.
\nNetanyahu said the Hezbollah commander, identified as Ahmed Ali Balout by the Israeli military, “thought he could continue to direct attacks against our forces and our communities from his secret terrorist headquarters in Beirut”.
\n“I say to our enemies in the clearest possible way: No terrorist has immunity,” he said.
\nWhile Israel and Hezbollah wage war, the US has hosted two rounds of talks between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to Washington, the highest-level contacts between Lebanese and Israeli government representatives in decades.
\nA US state department official said representatives of Israel and Lebanon would hold a third round of talks in Washington on May 14 and 15.
\nThe Lebanon ceasefire was announced for an initial 10 days and then extended for an additional three weeks during the second meeting between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to Washington, hosted by Trump at the Oval Office.
\nHezbollah strongly objects to the Lebanese government’s contacts with Israel, which reflect deep differences between the group and its critics in Lebanon.
\nLebanese PM says too early for ‘high-level’ meeting
\nMore than 2,700 people have been killed in the war in Lebanon since March 2, Lebanon’s health ministry says.
\nSome 1.2 million people have been driven from their homes, many of them fleeing from southern Lebanon.
\nIsrael says 17 of its soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon, along with two civilians in northern Israel.
\nAt least 11 people were killed in Israeli strikes in three different areas of south Lebanon on Wednesday, according to a tally of Lebanese health ministry announcements.
\nHezbollah said it carried out 17 operations against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, while the Israeli military said it had struck more than 15 militant infrastructure sites in the south the same day.
\nThe Israeli military says Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel since March 2.
\nHezbollah says it has the right to resist Israeli forces occupying the south.
\nIsrael’s control zone extends as deep as 10km into southern Lebanon. Israel says it aims to protect northern Israel from Hezbollah militants embedded in civilian areas.
\nTrump said last month he looked forward to hosting Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the near future, and that he saw “a great chance” the countries would reach a peace deal this year.
\nHowever, on Wednesday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said it was premature to talk of any high-level meeting between Lebanon and Israel, and said that shoring up a ceasefire would be the basis for any new negotiations between Lebanese and Israeli government envoys in Washington.
\n","content_text":"JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday there was no \"immunity\" for Israel's enemies, a day after the Israeli military targeted a Hezbollah commander in its first strike on Beirut's southern suburbs since a ceasefire declared last month.\nIsrael said the attack killed the commander of the Iran-backed group’s elite Radwan force.\nHezbollah, which controls Beirut's southern suburbs, has yet to issue any statement on the strike or the commander's status.\n\"He likely read in the press that he had immunity in Beirut. Well, he read it and it is no longer the case,\" Netanyahu said in a statement.\nHostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reignited on March 2 when the group opened fire at Israel after Tehran came under US-Israeli attack.\nWednesday's strike raises pressure on the Lebanon ceasefire that emerged in parallel to a truce in the wider Middle East war, with a halt to Israeli strikes in Lebanon being a key Iranian demand in Tehran's negotiations with Washington.\nAnnounced on April 16 by US President Donald Trump, the Lebanon ceasefire has led to a reduction in hostilities: the Beirut area was not struck by Israel for weeks before Wednesday's attack.\nHowever, the sides have continued to trade blows in the south, where Israel has carved out a self-declared security zone.\nNetanyahu said the Hezbollah commander, identified as Ahmed Ali Balout by the Israeli military, \"thought he could continue to direct attacks against our forces and our communities from his secret terrorist headquarters in Beirut\".\n\"I say to our enemies in the clearest possible way: No terrorist has immunity,\" he said.\nWhile Israel and Hezbollah wage war, the US has hosted two rounds of talks between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to Washington, the highest-level contacts between Lebanese and Israeli government representatives in decades.\nA US state department official said representatives of Israel and Lebanon would hold a third round of talks in Washington on May 14 and 15.\nThe Lebanon ceasefire was announced for an initial 10 days and then extended for an additional three weeks during the second meeting between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to Washington, hosted by Trump at the Oval Office.\nHezbollah strongly objects to the Lebanese government's contacts with Israel, which reflect deep differences between the group and its critics in Lebanon.\nLebanese PM says too early for 'high-level' meeting\nMore than 2,700 people have been killed in the war in Lebanon since March 2, Lebanon's health ministry says.\nSome 1.2 million people have been driven from their homes, many of them fleeing from southern Lebanon.\nIsrael says 17 of its soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon, along with two civilians in northern Israel.\nAt least 11 people were killed in Israeli strikes in three different areas of south Lebanon on Wednesday, according to a tally of Lebanese health ministry announcements.\nHezbollah said it carried out 17 operations against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, while the Israeli military said it had struck more than 15 militant infrastructure sites in the south the same day.\nThe Israeli military says Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel since March 2.\nHezbollah says it has the right to resist Israeli forces occupying the south.\nIsrael's control zone extends as deep as 10km into southern Lebanon. Israel says it aims to protect northern Israel from Hezbollah militants embedded in civilian areas.\nTrump said last month he looked forward to hosting Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the near future, and that he saw \"a great chance\" the countries would reach a peace deal this year.\nHowever, on Wednesday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said it was premature to talk of any high-level meeting between Lebanon and Israel, and said that shoring up a ceasefire would be the basis for any new negotiations between Lebanese and Israeli government envoys in Washington.","date_published":"2026-05-07T22:12:37.000Z","author":{"name":"Reuters"},"tags":["Highlight","World","Top World","Beirut","Benjamin Netanyahu","ceasefire","Hezbollah","Iran","Israel","Lebanon","truce"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/a6b80dae-beirut_airstrike.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/a6b80dae-beirut_airstrike.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/08/us-gulf-allies-press-un-to-condemn-iran-over-hormuz","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/08/us-gulf-allies-press-un-to-condemn-iran-over-hormuz","title":"US, Gulf allies press UN to condemn Iran over Hormuz","summary":"A draft resolution from the US and Bahrain demands that Iran halt its attacks and threats against commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/3dc20de1-2952949_1_cropped_1.webp\")
WASHINGTON: The US and its Gulf allies pressed the UN yesterday to demand that Iran end its blockage of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, as a resolution on the issue faced a veto threat.
\nDiplomatic sources said veto-holding Russia, a key ally of Iran, had warned on Wednesday it was prepared to block the UN Security Council resolution.
\nUS ambassador Mike Waltz – speaking yesterday alongside counterparts from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait- argued the issue had global consequences.
\n“We believe in some basic fundamental principles, namely the freedom of navigation for the entire world’s economies,” Waltz said.
\n“That’s what’s at stake here, nothing less than a cornerstone of worldwide stability and commerce,” he said.
\nA draft resolution from the US and Bahrain, seen by AFP, demands that Iran halt its attacks and threats against commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
\nIt also orders Iran to not charge tolls on the passage, to specify where it has placed mines, and allow for the creation of a humanitarian corridor for shipments of fertilizer, amid fears of global food shortages.
\nA fifth of the world’s oil supplies and a third of the global fertiliser shipments normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but shipping has been largely cut off since the war broke out on Feb 28 with US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
\nIran’s UN ambassador blasted the draft resolution as a “flawed, politically motivated” text that would not resolve the crisis.
\nPassing the resolution would “establish a dangerous precedent for legitimising unilateral coercive measures and unlawful actions by the US against the sovereignty and sovereign rights of coastal states,” said Amir Saeid Iravani.
\nIn mid-March the council passed a strongly worded resolution urging Iran to stop attacking its Gulf neighbours and condemning its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.
\nRussia and China abstained in that vote. However, in early April they vetoed a text urging countries to coordinate their efforts in a “defensive” way to ensure free navigation through the strait.
\n","content_text":"WASHINGTON: The US and its Gulf allies pressed the UN yesterday to demand that Iran end its blockage of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, as a resolution on the issue faced a veto threat.\nDiplomatic sources said veto-holding Russia, a key ally of Iran, had warned on Wednesday it was prepared to block the UN Security Council resolution.\nUS ambassador Mike Waltz - speaking yesterday alongside counterparts from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait- argued the issue had global consequences.\n\"We believe in some basic fundamental principles, namely the freedom of navigation for the entire world's economies,\" Waltz said.\n\"That's what's at stake here, nothing less than a cornerstone of worldwide stability and commerce,\" he said.\nA draft resolution from the US and Bahrain, seen by AFP, demands that Iran halt its attacks and threats against commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.\nIt also orders Iran to not charge tolls on the passage, to specify where it has placed mines, and allow for the creation of a humanitarian corridor for shipments of fertilizer, amid fears of global food shortages.\nA fifth of the world's oil supplies and a third of the global fertiliser shipments normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but shipping has been largely cut off since the war broke out on Feb 28 with US and Israeli attacks on Iran.\nIran's UN ambassador blasted the draft resolution as a \"flawed, politically motivated\" text that would not resolve the crisis.\nPassing the resolution would \"establish a dangerous precedent for legitimising unilateral coercive measures and unlawful actions by the US against the sovereignty and sovereign rights of coastal states,\" said Amir Saeid Iravani.\nIn mid-March the council passed a strongly worded resolution urging Iran to stop attacking its Gulf neighbours and condemning its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.\nRussia and China abstained in that vote. However, in early April they vetoed a text urging countries to coordinate their efforts in a \"defensive\" way to ensure free navigation through the strait.","date_published":"2026-05-07T21:57:12.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["Highlight","World","Top World","allies","Bahrain","blockage","Iran","Mike Waltz","resolution","Russia","shipping","Strait of Hormuz","the US","UN","UN Security Council"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/3dc20de1-2952949_1_cropped_1.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/3dc20de1-2952949_1_cropped_1.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/08/trump-hails-talks-with-brazils-lula-despite-earlier-tensions","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/08/trump-hails-talks-with-brazils-lula-despite-earlier-tensions","title":"Trump hails talks with Brazil’s Lula despite earlier tensions","summary":"US President Donald Trump says he had good talks with Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, praising the 'very dynamic' leader.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/3ba2b9af-afp__20260507__b2834wj__v1__highres__776494682_cropped_1.webp\")
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said he had good talks with Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the White House yesterday, hailing the “very dynamic” leader despite previous tensions with his ideological opposite.
\nLeftist Lula, 80, and right-winger Trump, 79, have clashed before over everything from tariffs to Trump’s bid to exert US dominance over the Americas.
\nHowever, they have worked to bury the hatchet in recent months – not least as Lula seeks to boost his image at home ahead of tight elections in October.
\n“Just concluded my meeting with Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the very dynamic President of Brazil.
\n“We discussed many topics, including trade and, specifically, tariffs. The meeting went very well,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
\nThe meeting was due to be open to the press, but ended up happening behind closed doors.
\n“Our Representatives are scheduled to get together to discuss certain key elements. Additional meetings will be scheduled over the coming months, as necessary,” Trump’s post added.
\nTrump hit Brazil with steep tariffs on all its products in July as punishment for what he called a “witch hunt” against his far-right ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro.
\nBolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence for an attempted coup.
\nLula, who once said that Trump wants to be “emperor of the World,” took a strong, public stand against the economic measures.
\nHe has also slammed the US removal of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and the war it launched alongside Israel against Iran.
\nHowever, relations appeared to warm after Trump met Lula in Malaysia last year, and after they had a series of calls, with Trump at one point hailing their “excellent chemistry”.
\nBoth veteran leaders are known for their long and rambling public discourses, despite being at opposite ends of the political spectrum.
\nThe US tariffs have since been partially reduced, easing tensions between the two biggest economies in the Americas.
\n‘Personal rapport’
\nLula, however, headed to the meeting politically weakened after a series of defeats in the Brazilian Congress.
\nHe is tied with Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, in opinion polls ahead of the election.
\nThe veteran leftist is seeking a fourth, non-consecutive term in office.
\nOliver Stuenkel, an international relations professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Sao Paulo, told AFP that Lula will want to “strengthen the personal rapport with Trump” to reduce the risk of US interference in the elections, such as overt displays of support for Flavio.
\nSecurity is the main concern of Brazilian voters ahead of the vote, and combating organized crime was high on the agenda of the meeting with Trump.
\nFinance minister Dario Durigan, part of the delegation, said Wednesday that Brazil wanted to expand cooperation in fighting cartels.
\nThe two governments signed a deal in April to share information to combat arms and drug trafficking, such as X-ray data on containers traveling from the US to Brazil.
\nTrump has made the fight against so-called “narcoterrorism” a priority of his second term, designating major cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and using it to justify the ouster of Maduro.
\nAlso, up for discussion were Brazil’s vast reserves of rare earth minerals – crucial for the production of high-tech goods – which Washington is scrambling to invest in.
\nThe country holds the second-largest reserves of critical elements in the world after China.
\nLate on Wednesday, Brazilian lawmakers advanced a bill that would incentivize mineral exploitation. It will next be debated in the senate.
\nWashington is also investigating Brazil for unfair trade practices, such as whether the country’s free PIX electronic payment system is undermining the competitiveness of US companies.
\n","content_text":"WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said he had good talks with Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the White House yesterday, hailing the \"very dynamic\" leader despite previous tensions with his ideological opposite.\nLeftist Lula, 80, and right-winger Trump, 79, have clashed before over everything from tariffs to Trump's bid to exert US dominance over the Americas.\nHowever, they have worked to bury the hatchet in recent months - not least as Lula seeks to boost his image at home ahead of tight elections in October.\n\"Just concluded my meeting with Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the very dynamic President of Brazil.\n\"We discussed many topics, including trade and, specifically, tariffs. The meeting went very well,\" Trump said on his Truth Social network.\nThe meeting was due to be open to the press, but ended up happening behind closed doors.\n\"Our Representatives are scheduled to get together to discuss certain key elements. Additional meetings will be scheduled over the coming months, as necessary,\" Trump's post added.\nTrump hit Brazil with steep tariffs on all its products in July as punishment for what he called a \"witch hunt\" against his far-right ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro.\nBolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence for an attempted coup.\nLula, who once said that Trump wants to be \"emperor of the World,\" took a strong, public stand against the economic measures.\nHe has also slammed the US removal of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and the war it launched alongside Israel against Iran.\nHowever, relations appeared to warm after Trump met Lula in Malaysia last year, and after they had a series of calls, with Trump at one point hailing their \"excellent chemistry\".\nBoth veteran leaders are known for their long and rambling public discourses, despite being at opposite ends of the political spectrum.\nThe US tariffs have since been partially reduced, easing tensions between the two biggest economies in the Americas.\n'Personal rapport' \nLula, however, headed to the meeting politically weakened after a series of defeats in the Brazilian Congress.\nHe is tied with Bolsonaro's eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, in opinion polls ahead of the election.\nThe veteran leftist is seeking a fourth, non-consecutive term in office.\nOliver Stuenkel, an international relations professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Sao Paulo, told AFP that Lula will want to \"strengthen the personal rapport with Trump\" to reduce the risk of US interference in the elections, such as overt displays of support for Flavio.\nSecurity is the main concern of Brazilian voters ahead of the vote, and combating organized crime was high on the agenda of the meeting with Trump.\nFinance minister Dario Durigan, part of the delegation, said Wednesday that Brazil wanted to expand cooperation in fighting cartels.\nThe two governments signed a deal in April to share information to combat arms and drug trafficking, such as X-ray data on containers traveling from the US to Brazil.\nTrump has made the fight against so-called \"narcoterrorism\" a priority of his second term, designating major cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and using it to justify the ouster of Maduro.\nAlso, up for discussion were Brazil's vast reserves of rare earth minerals - crucial for the production of high-tech goods - which Washington is scrambling to invest in.\nThe country holds the second-largest reserves of critical elements in the world after China.\nLate on Wednesday, Brazilian lawmakers advanced a bill that would incentivize mineral exploitation. It will next be debated in the senate.\nWashington is also investigating Brazil for unfair trade practices, such as whether the country's free PIX electronic payment system is undermining the competitiveness of US companies.","date_published":"2026-05-07T21:39:00.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["Highlight","World","Top World","Brazil","Donald Trump","Jair Bolsonaro","Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva","the US"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/3ba2b9af-afp__20260507__b2834wj__v1__highres__776494682_cropped_1.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/3ba2b9af-afp__20260507__b2834wj__v1__highres__776494682_cropped_1.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/08/new-yorks-governor-orders-us-immigration-agents-to-unmask","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/08/new-yorks-governor-orders-us-immigration-agents-to-unmask","title":"New York’s governor orders US immigration agents to unmask","summary":"Governor Kathy Hochul says that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers wearing masks without good cause are nothing short of an intimidation tactic.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1167053c-13666708_cropped_1.webp\")
NEW YORK: New York’s governor yesterday ordered federal immigration agents operating in her state not to wear masks, a move likely to be challenged by President Donald Trump’s administration after courts overturned a similar effort in California.
\nSince the beginning of Trump’s controversial mass deportation campaign, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have typically covered their faces, officially to avoid being identified and potentially threatened outside of work.
\n“For ICE, wearing masks without good cause is nothing short of an intimidation tactic, a cowardly attempt to evade responsibility,” New York governor Kathy Hochul, a leading Democrat opponent of Trump and his immigration policies, said yesterday.
\nImages of heavily armed, masked, plainclothes officers marauding around US cities, including Minneapolis, brutalising citizens and non-citizens alike, garnered international attention earlier this year, peaking when ICE officers shot dead two Americans in the Midwestern city.
\nAs well as the restriction on face coverings, Hochul announced that ICE agents would no longer be permitted to enter schools, libraries, community centres, polling sites, and other sensitive locations without a judicial warrant.
\nShe also forbade local police from cooperating with the agency in any operation conducted solely on immigration grounds.
\n“Our officers, paid for by local taxpayer dollars, were hired to protect their communities…they’re not there to do the federal government’s bidding,” the governor added.
\nTrump’s immigration pointman Tom Homan recently warned that “what’s going to happen with places like New York, and (if) people pass ridiculous legislation not to work with us, we’re going to flood the zone”.
\nA law passed by California’s legislature requiring federal agents to show their faces was blocked by a district court earlier this year, with an appellate court later also ruling against the measure.
\n","content_text":"NEW YORK: New York's governor yesterday ordered federal immigration agents operating in her state not to wear masks, a move likely to be challenged by President Donald Trump's administration after courts overturned a similar effort in California.\nSince the beginning of Trump's controversial mass deportation campaign, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have typically covered their faces, officially to avoid being identified and potentially threatened outside of work.\n\"For ICE, wearing masks without good cause is nothing short of an intimidation tactic, a cowardly attempt to evade responsibility,\" New York governor Kathy Hochul, a leading Democrat opponent of Trump and his immigration policies, said yesterday.\nImages of heavily armed, masked, plainclothes officers marauding around US cities, including Minneapolis, brutalising citizens and non-citizens alike, garnered international attention earlier this year, peaking when ICE officers shot dead two Americans in the Midwestern city.\nAs well as the restriction on face coverings, Hochul announced that ICE agents would no longer be permitted to enter schools, libraries, community centres, polling sites, and other sensitive locations without a judicial warrant.\nShe also forbade local police from cooperating with the agency in any operation conducted solely on immigration grounds.\n\"Our officers, paid for by local taxpayer dollars, were hired to protect their communities...they're not there to do the federal government's bidding,\" the governor added.\nTrump's immigration pointman Tom Homan recently warned that \"what's going to happen with places like New York, and (if) people pass ridiculous legislation not to work with us, we're going to flood the zone\".\nA law passed by California's legislature requiring federal agents to show their faces was blocked by a district court earlier this year, with an appellate court later also ruling against the measure.","date_published":"2026-05-07T21:23:55.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["Highlight","World","Top World","Donald Trump","Governor","ice","immigration","Immigration and Customs Enforcement","MASK","New York"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1167053c-13666708_cropped_1.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1167053c-13666708_cropped_1.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/07/some-1500-ships-trapped-in-gulf-due-to-iran-conflict","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/07/some-1500-ships-trapped-in-gulf-due-to-iran-conflict","title":"Some 1,500 ships trapped in Gulf due to Iran conflict","summary":"IMO chief Arsenio Dominguez also said about 20,000 crewmen are trapped by geopolitical situations outside their control.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/204439fc-hormuz-iran-israel-epa-040326.webp\")
PANAMA CITY: Around 1,500 ships and their crews are trapped in the Gulf due to the Iranian blockade in the strait of Hormuz, the secretary general of the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) said in Panama on Thursday.
\nThe war in the Middle East, unleashed Feb 28 by Israel and the US against Iran, provoked reprisals from Tehran across the region and a shipping blockade in Hormuz, a crucial global trade route.
\n“Right now, we have approximately 20,000 crewmen and around 1,500 ships trapped,” Arsenio Dominguez told the Maritime Convention of the Americas.
\nDominguez said that maritime shipping moves over 80% of total consumed products in the world.
\nThe stranded crew members “are innocent people who are doing their jobs every day for the benefit of other countries,” but “are trapped by geopolitical situations outside their control,” Dominguez told the gathering of industry executives and IMO representatives.
\nBefore the conflict’s outbreak, a fifth of the world’s total petroleum and gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The closure has led to a significant global surge in the price of hydrocarbons.
\nOn Monday, US President Donald Trump announced a naval operation to escort the trapped ships and force the opening of the strait, but called off the push shortly after.
\nWashington is now waiting for an Iranian response to proposals for ending the war and reopening the Hormuz strait.
\n","content_text":"PANAMA CITY: Around 1,500 ships and their crews are trapped in the Gulf due to the Iranian blockade in the strait of Hormuz, the secretary general of the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO) said in Panama on Thursday.\nThe war in the Middle East, unleashed Feb 28 by Israel and the US against Iran, provoked reprisals from Tehran across the region and a shipping blockade in Hormuz, a crucial global trade route.\n\"Right now, we have approximately 20,000 crewmen and around 1,500 ships trapped,\" Arsenio Dominguez told the Maritime Convention of the Americas.\nDominguez said that maritime shipping moves over 80% of total consumed products in the world.\nThe stranded crew members \"are innocent people who are doing their jobs every day for the benefit of other countries,\" but \"are trapped by geopolitical situations outside their control,\" Dominguez told the gathering of industry executives and IMO representatives.\nBefore the conflict's outbreak, a fifth of the world's total petroleum and gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The closure has led to a significant global surge in the price of hydrocarbons.\nOn Monday, US President Donald Trump announced a naval operation to escort the trapped ships and force the opening of the strait, but called off the push shortly after.\nWashington is now waiting for an Iranian response to proposals for ending the war and reopening the Hormuz strait.","date_published":"2026-05-07T15:46:50.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["Highlight","World","Top World","Business","World Business","Top Business","Crew stranded","energy prices","global shipping","Gulf crisis","IMO warning","Iranian blockade","maritime trade","oil supply","Shipping blockade","Strait of Hormuz"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/204439fc-hormuz-iran-israel-epa-040326.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/204439fc-hormuz-iran-israel-epa-040326.webp"},{"id":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/07/who-says-5-confirmed-cruise-ship-hantavirus-cases","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/05/07/who-says-5-confirmed-cruise-ship-hantavirus-cases","title":"WHO says 5 confirmed cruise ship hantavirus cases","summary":"The outbreak on the MV Hondius is expected to be limited, so long as public health measures were properly implemented.","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/d9127416-who-chief-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus-27122024.webp\")
GENEVA: The World Health Organization said Thursday there were now five confirmed hantavirus cases from the Atlantic cruise ship outbreak, with three more suspected – and warned more cases were possible.
\nThe WHO said it expected the outbreak on the MV Hondius, currently sailing from Cape Verde to the Spanish island of Tenerife, to be limited, so long as public health measures were properly implemented.
\n“So far, eight cases have been reported, including three deaths. Five of the eight cases have been confirmed as hantavirus and the other three are suspected,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyeus said.
\n“The species of hantavirus involved in this case is the Andes virus, which is found in Latin America,” he told journalists in Geneva.
\n“Given the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks, it’s possible that more cases may be reported,” he added.
\nThe Dutch-flagged ship left Ushuaia in Argentina on April 1 on its cruise north through the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Verde. It set sail north towards Tenerife on Wednesday.
\nTedros said he had been in regular contact with the ship’s captain.
\n“He told me morale has improved significantly since the ship started moving again. I thank him for everything he has done to protect those under his duty of care,” he said.
\nThe WHO’s emergency alert and response director Abdi Rahman Mahamud added: “We believe this will be a limited outbreak if the public health measures are implemented and solidarity shown across all countries.”
\nThe rare disease is usually spread from infected rodents, typically through urine, droppings and saliva.
\nThe Andes virus is found in South America. It is the only strain of hantavirus with documented human-to-human transmission.
\nTedros said Argentina would send 2,500 diagnostic kits to laboratories in five countries.
\nAfter leaving Ushuaia on its Atlantic voyage, the exploration vessel stopped at several remote islands along the way.
\nThe WHO said it had informed 12 countries that its nationals had disembarked the MV Hondius on Saint Helena.
\nThe ship called at the British territory from April 22 to 24. Its operator said that 30 guests had disembarked at that point, including the first fatality, a Dutchman who died on April 11.
\nThe 12 countries were Britain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the US, Tedros said.
\n","content_text":"GENEVA: The World Health Organization said Thursday there were now five confirmed hantavirus cases from the Atlantic cruise ship outbreak, with three more suspected - and warned more cases were possible.\nThe WHO said it expected the outbreak on the MV Hondius, currently sailing from Cape Verde to the Spanish island of Tenerife, to be limited, so long as public health measures were properly implemented.\n\"So far, eight cases have been reported, including three deaths. Five of the eight cases have been confirmed as hantavirus and the other three are suspected,\" WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyeus said.\n\"The species of hantavirus involved in this case is the Andes virus, which is found in Latin America,\" he told journalists in Geneva.\n\"Given the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks, it's possible that more cases may be reported,\" he added.\nThe Dutch-flagged ship left Ushuaia in Argentina on April 1 on its cruise north through the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Verde. It set sail north towards Tenerife on Wednesday.\nTedros said he had been in regular contact with the ship's captain.\n\"He told me morale has improved significantly since the ship started moving again. I thank him for everything he has done to protect those under his duty of care,\" he said.\nThe WHO's emergency alert and response director Abdi Rahman Mahamud added: \"We believe this will be a limited outbreak if the public health measures are implemented and solidarity shown across all countries.\"\nThe rare disease is usually spread from infected rodents, typically through urine, droppings and saliva.\nThe Andes virus is found in South America. It is the only strain of hantavirus with documented human-to-human transmission.\nTedros said Argentina would send 2,500 diagnostic kits to laboratories in five countries.\nAfter leaving Ushuaia on its Atlantic voyage, the exploration vessel stopped at several remote islands along the way.\nThe WHO said it had informed 12 countries that its nationals had disembarked the MV Hondius on Saint Helena.\nThe ship called at the British territory from April 22 to 24. Its operator said that 30 guests had disembarked at that point, including the first fatality, a Dutchman who died on April 11.\nThe 12 countries were Britain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the US, Tedros said.","date_published":"2026-05-07T15:07:39.000Z","author":{"name":"AFP"},"tags":["Highlight","World","Top World","Andes virus","cruise ship","Disease transmission","Geneva briefing","hantavirus outbreak","international response","MV Hondius","public health","Rodent virus","WHO alert"],"image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/d9127416-who-chief-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus-27122024.webp","banner_image":"https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/d9127416-who-chief-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus-27122024.webp"}]}