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The idea that children go “online” is already outdated.For most young people today, there is no meaningful distinction between online and offline life. Their friendships unfold across group chats, their sense of identity is shaped
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European allies fear an inexperienced US negotiating team is pushing for a swift, headline-grabbing framework deal with Iran that could entrench rather than resolve deeper problems, diplomats with past experience dealing with Tehran said.They worry that Washington, eager to claim a diplomatic win for President Donald Trump, could lock in a superficial agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme and sanctions relief, then struggle through months or years of technically complex follow-on talks.“The concern isn’t that there won’t be an agreement,” said a senior European diplomat, who has previously worked on the nuclear file or continue to do so. “It’s that there will be a bad initial agreement that creates endless downstream problems.”Diplomats from France, Britain and Germany – which began negotiating with Iran in 2003 – say that they have been sidelined.From 2013 to 2015, the three worked with the US to secure a deal on curbing Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).Trump withdrew from the accord – the signature foreign policy agreement of his predecessor Barack Obama – in 2018, during his first term, calling it “horribly one-sided”.After 40 days of airstrikes, US and Iranian negotiators opened talks in Islamabad earlier this month, again focused on the familiar trade-off of nuclear restrictions for economic relief.There were some signs in the Pakistani capital yesterday of preparations for a resumption of face-to-face negotiations.Diplomats say that deep mistrust and sharply different negotiating styles raise the risk of a fragile framework neither side can sustain politically.“It took us 12 years and immense technical work,” said Federica Mogherini, who co-ordinated the talks from 2013 to 2015. “Does anyone seriously think this can be done in 21 hours?”The diplomats said that a skeletal agreement may be achievable, built around a nuclear package and an economic package.“The Americans think you agree on three or four points in a five-page document and that’s it, but on the nuclear file, every clause opens the door to a dozen more disputes,” a second European diplomat said.Talks are focusing on Iran’s stockpile of roughly 440kg (970 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60%, material that could be used for several nuclear weapons if further enriched.The favoured option is “downblending” inside Iran under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supervision.Another is a hybrid approach, with some material shipped abroad.“Whatever happens now is only a starting point,” said a diplomat previously involved in nuclear talks. “That’s why the 2015 JCPOA ran to 160 pages.”Beyond stockpiles lies the deeper dispute over Iran’s right to enrich uranium at all: Trump has publicly pushed for zero enrichment, while Iran insists it has the right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes and denies seeking a bomb.One possible compromise would be a temporary moratorium followed by resumption at very low levels under strict conditions.Europeans stressed that a central role for the IAEA, including intrusive verification and unrestricted access, was essential.“A negotiation with Iran is meticulous and subtle: every word matters,” said Gérard Araud, France’s chief negotiator from 2006 to 2009. “That’s not something you rush.”The economic track focuses on lifting sanctions and unfreezing Iranian assets.In the short term, Iran wants access to frozen funds overseas.Broader sanctions relief would come later and require European buy-in, diplomats said.Officials say Washington is again separating an agreement in principle from its painstaking follow-up, an approach they say risks misreading Iranian political culture.“These talks aren’t a real-estate deal settled with a handshake,” said a senior regional diplomat briefed by Tehran, referring to the background of Trump’s main negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. “They involve sequencing, sanctions relief and reciprocal nuclear steps.”“There’s simply not enough expertise in this US team,” said one European official, noting that roughly 200 diplomats, financial and nuclear experts were involved in the 2015 talks. “We’ve worked on this file for two decades.” – Reuters
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Pakistan’s powerful military chief and prime minister concluded yesterday separate visits aimed at ending the Iran war, with Field Marshal Asim Munir leaving Tehran and premier Shehbaz Sharif headed home from Turkiye. Munir met Iran’s top leadership and peace negotiators during a three-day visit to Tehran, a Pakistani military statement said. The visit showed Pakistan’s “unwavering resolve to facilitate a negotiated settlement... and to promote peace, stability, and prosperity”, the military said ahead of expected US-Iran talks in Islamabad in the coming days.The Pakistani military chief held negotiations with the country’s president, foreign minister, parliament speaker and the head of Iran’s military central command centre. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi led the Iranian delegation to Islamabad for peace talks with the US last week, the highest level face-to-face contact between the two countries in decades. Those talks ended without an agreement, but diplomacy continued thereafter, with Pakistan’s prime minister undertaking a three-country tour to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye to push the peace process. That visit also concluded yesterday, with Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar departing a diplomacy forum in Antalya, according to statements from both officials. A second round of talks between the United States and Iran is expected in Islamabad this coming week. In Tehran, “the Field Marshal underscored the need for dialogue, de-escalation, and peaceful resolution of outstanding issues through sustained diplomatic engagements”, the Pakistani statement said.
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New Delhi summoned the Iranian ambassador yesterday to lodge a protest over a “shooting incident” involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the foreign ministry said. Iran has reversed its pledge to reopen the strategic trade route to commercial traffic during a ceasefire in the Middle East war in protest at a US counter-blockade of the waterway, a crucial passage for crude oil and gas.Security monitors said several commercial ships came under fire and threats from Iranian forces yesterday as they tried to cross the strait. India’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Secretary Vikram Misri summoned the Iranian ambassador and “conveyed India’s deep concern at the shooting incident earlier today involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz”. New Delhi also urged Iran to “resume at the earliest the process of facilitating India-bound ships across the Strait”, the statement said, adding that the envoy “undertook to convey these views to the Iranian authorities”. Monitoring site TankerTrackers.com said in post on X that “two Indian vessels were forced back west out of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran’s Sepah (IRGC) Navy”, adding one of the vessels was “an Indian-flagged VLCC supertanker carrying 2 mn barrels of Iraqi oil”. India, the world’s second-largest buyer of liquefied petroleum gas, has managed to secure passage for several Indian-flagged vessels in recent weeks. India imports about 60% of its LPG needs and has been grappling with a gas crunch since the war in the Middle East began on February 28. New Delhi maintains strong relations with Tehran but has steadily expanded co-operation with Iran’s rival Israel in defence, agriculture, technology and cybersecurity.
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China has issued fines totalling 3.6bn yuan ($527mn) to seven major e-commerce platforms for food safety violations, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said on Friday. The regulator said platforms, including Alibaba-owned Taobao, JD.com, Meituan, Temu-owner Pinduoduo and Douyin — China’s version of TikTok — had failed to check the licenses of stores on their apps and allowed “ghost food deliveries” from unverified vendors. SAMR said in a statement it had “ordered seven e-commerce platforms to rectify their illegal activities... and imposed fines and confiscations totalling 3.597bn yuan”.The legal representatives of the companies were also fined a total of 19.7mn yuan ($2.9mn), the market regulator said. An investigation showed the platforms had “not strictly reviewed and checked the licenses of food operators entering their networks, and failed to fulfil the obligation of qualification review in accordance with the law,” SAMR said. They had also signed agreements with order-transfer platforms, which infringed on consumers’ rights, SAMR said.
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The Trump administration on Friday renewed a waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil at sea for about a month, even as lawmakers accused the government of going easy on Moscow as its war on Ukraine grinds on. The Treasury Department’s waiver lets countries purchase Russian oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels as of Friday through May 16. It replaces a 30-day waiver that expired on April 11 and excludes transactions involving Iran, Cuba and North Korea. The move is part of the administration’s effort to control global energy prices that have shot higher during the US-Israeli war with Iran. It came after countries in Asia, suffering from the global energy shock, pressed Washington to allow alternative supplies to reach markets. “As negotiations (with Iran) accelerate, Treasury wants to ensure oil is available to those who need it,” a Treasury Department spokesperson said. Just two days earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would not be renewing the waiver for Russian oil and another for Iranian oil, which is set to expire on Sunday. Global oil prices tumbled 9% on Friday to about $90 a barrel after Iran temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz, an oil choke point in the Gulf. But the war has already created the worst global energy supply disruption in history, the International Energy Agency has said. The war, which enters its eighth week on Saturday, has damaged more than 80 oil and gas facilities in the Middle East, and Tehran has warned it could close the strait again if the recent US Navy blockade of Iranian ports continued. High oil prices are a threat to President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans ahead of November’s midterm elections. Trump has also faced pressure from partner countries on the oil price. A US source said partner countries on the sidelines of Group of 20, World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington this week had requested the US extend the waiver. And he spoke about oil this week in a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, a big purchaser of Russian oil. The waiver on Iranian oil, which the Treasury Department issued on March 20, allowed about 140mn barrels of oil to reach global markets and helped relieve pressure on energy supply, Bessent said last month. US lawmakers from both political parties had slammed the administration over the sanctions waivers, saying they stood to help the economy of Iran while it was at war with the US and of Russia as it was at war with Ukraine. The waivers could impede the West’s efforts to deprive Russia of revenue for its war in Ukraine and put Washington at odds with its allies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said now is not the time to relax sanctions against Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev said an extension of the US waiver will affect another 100mn barrels of Russian oil, bringing the total volume affected by both waivers to 200mn barrels. Dmitriev, who travelled to the US on April 9 for meetings with members of the Trump administration ahead of the previous waiver expiry, said on his Telegram channel that the extension faced “active political opposition.” Brett Erickson, a sanctions expert at the consulting firm Obsidian Risk Advisors, said Friday’s renewal is likely not the last waiver Washington will issue.“The conflict has done lasting damage to global energy markets, and the tools available to stabilise them are nearly exhausted,” Erickson said. Waiver aims to stabilise energy prices amid Iran war and Middle East tensions; Lawmakers criticise waivers for benefiting Russia during war with Ukraine; Analyst warns energy market tools are ‘nearly exhausted’; EU urges no relaxation of Russia sanctions
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Pope Leo XIV (CL) is welcomed by Angola's President Joao Lourenco (CR) upon his arrival at the "4 de Fevereiro" Luanda International Airport in Luanda on the sixth day of an 11-day apostolic journey to
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This handout photograph taken and released by Turkish Foreign Ministry on April 17, 2026, shows Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan greeting Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) during the 5th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy
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KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs led Delhi Capitals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League on a sweltering Saturday, as the visitors outplayed the hosts in a cracking contest at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Chasing 176, Delhi rode a composed innings from Rahul, who marked his birthday with a fluent 57 off 34 before Stubbs applied the finishing touches, ensuring the target was overhauled with a ball to spare. Put in to bat, Bengaluru opener Phil Salt marked his presence with a half-century to set the tone, but regular wickets in the innings prevented the hosts from accelerating and they finished on 175-8 in oppressive heat. Bengaluru struck back early in Delhi’s chase, with pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivering a telling power-play spell that accounted for three quick wickets, leaving Delhi under pressure at 50-3 inside six overs. Local favourite Rahul, however, steadied the innings by striking six fours and two sixes in his knock and allowed others to play without pressure despite challenging batting conditions. “We didn’t want to take it too deep, we just wanted to stay positive... and try to put pressure on the bowlers,” Rahul said at the post-match presentation. “There was faith in Stubbs and (David) Miller. “They do this on a daily basis for South Africa and franchise cricket,” he added. Stubbs shifted the momentum decisively, seizing control with an unbeaten 60-run knock to tilt the contest firmly in Delhi’s favour, with steady support from captain Axar Patel before he was forced to retire hurt on 26. Miller (22 off 10) sealed the victory by striking the winning runs, ensuring there were no late alarms. “I didn’t want to take it into the last over. I knew we were going to do it, I didn’t know how. But thankfully Miller was at the other end. It’s his bread and butter,” said Stubbs, who was named player of the match. The win lifted Delhi to fourth in the standings with six points, while Bengaluru’s defeat dented their push at the top of the table, keeping them second on eight points. The match marked a milestone for the hosts, who became the first team to play 100 IPL matches at a single venue - the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Former Australia captain Allan Border was among the spectators, watching his first-ever IPL match. Earlier, Bengaluru openers Salt and Virat Kohli began briskly, but the tempo dipped when Lungi Ngidi struck in his opening over to dismiss Kohli for 19 off 13 balls. Salt, the hosts’ top scorer, then took control with a fluent 63 off 38 deliveries, before Tim David added a lively 26 off 17. “We were 15-20 runs short. The way we started, especially VK bhai (Virat Kohli) and Salt, they gave us a good start. Then we started losing wickets and it put us on the back foot,” said Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar. Delhi bowlers including Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav and Patel also did a reasonable job in checking the run flow, with all three picking off two wickets apiece. Delhi next face Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday, while Bengaluru host Gujarat Titans on Friday. BRIEF SCORESDelhi Capitals 179 for 4 (Stubbs 60*, Rahul 57, Bhuvneshwar 3-26) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru 175 for 8 (Salt 63, Axar 2-18, Kuldeep 2-32) by six wickets Related Story
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Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Travis Head (right) and his Indian teammate Abhishek Sharma speak during the IPL match against Chennai Super Kings in Hyderabad Saturday. (AFP) Sri Lankan pacer Eshan Malinga’s tight spell of 3-29 and a trademark blistering half-century by Abhishek Sharma helped Sunrisers Hyderabad down Chennai Super Kings by 10 runs Saturday in the Indian Premier League.After being put in to bat, Hyderabad posted a formidable 194-9 on the back of Abhishek’s 59 off 22 and veteran South Africa international Heinrich Klaasen’s 59 off 39.In reply, five-time winners Chennai lost opener and India’s T20 World Cup hero Sanju Samson cheaply for 7 off 3.Impact substitute Ayush Mhatre hit a quickfire 30 off 13, giving the chase momentum but a sharp catch by Klaasen cut short the teenager’s heroics.A flurry of quick wickets followed, stymying the run flow in the middle overs.Despite handy contributions by Australian T20 specialist Matthew Short and Indian batter Sarfaraz Khan, Chennai’s innings never recovered from the early blows.Chennai skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad blamed the defeat on the lack of partnerships in the middle over.“It was just about 80 runs needed in (the last) 10 overs in the chase,” he said. “From there it was just about building a couple of partnerships.”Malinga was ably assisted by Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who returned figures of 2-31 in his four overs.Sunrisers captain Ishan Kishan was all praise for his bowlers who he said helped his team cross the line despite being “20-30 (runs) short”. “Lovely when you have a bunch of young bowlers coming up with their plans,” said KishanEarlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad got off to a flying start with openers Abhishek and Travis Head notching up 75 runs in the powerplay. Head was the first to go, immediately followed by captain Ishan Kishan who was out for a first ball duck.Abhishek followed soon after. Klaasen held steady at one end before being bowled by pacer Anshul Kamboj. For Chennai, Kamboj returned the most productive figures, taking three wickets for 22 runs. Chennai are still waiting for the return of India legend MS Dhoni, who is recovering from a calf injury. BRIEF SCORESSunrisers Hyderabad 194 for 9 (Abhishek 59, Klaasen 59, Kamboj 3-22, Overton 3-37) beat Chennai Super Kings 184 for 8 (Mhatre 34, Malinga 3-29, Reddy 2-31) by 10 runs Related Story
