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Maldives Ban Israelis to Protest Gaza War 

The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)
The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Maldives Ban Israelis to Protest Gaza War 

The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)
The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)

The Maldives announced Tuesday it was banning the entry of Israelis from the luxury tourist archipelago in "resolute solidarity" with the Palestinian people.

President Mohamed Muizzu ratified the legislation shortly after it was approved by parliament on Tuesday.

"The ratification reflects the government's firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people," his office said in a statement.

"The Maldives reaffirms its resolute solidarity with the Palestinian cause."

The ban will be implemented with immediate effect, a spokesman for Muizzu's office told AFP.

The Maldives, a small Islamic republic of 1,192 strategically located coral islets, is known for its secluded white sandy beaches, shallow turquoise lagoons and Robinson Crusoe-style getaways.

Official data showed that only 59 Israeli tourists visited the archipelago in February, among 214,000 other foreign arrivals.

The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010.

Opposition parties and government allies in the Maldives have been pressuring Muizzu to ban Israelis as a statement of opposition to the Gaza war.

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged its citizens last year to avoid travelling to the Maldives.

The Gaza war broke out after Palestinian group Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that at least 1,613 Palestinians had been killed since March 18, when a ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,983.

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World

Trump Warns of Fresh Strikes if Iran Talks Fail

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP)
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Trump Warns of Fresh Strikes if Iran Talks Fail

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP)

President Donald Trump said Friday that US warships are being reloaded with weaponry to strike Iran if talks in Pakistan fail to produce a deal, in an interview with the New York Post.

"We have a reset going. We're loading up the ships with the best ammunition, the best weapons ever made -- even better than what we did previously and we blew them apart," the Post quoted Trump as saying.

"And if we don't have a deal, we will be using them, and we will be using them very effectively."

In a brief and cryptic message on his Truth Social network earlier, Trump had spoken of the "WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL RESET!!!"

Vice President JD Vance headed to Islamabad on Friday to lead the US delegation in this weekend's talks with Iran, with a warning to Tehran not to "play" Washington.

World

Netanyahu Accuses Spain of ‘Hostility’ Towards Israel After Blocking It from Gaza Truce Center

Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP)
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Netanyahu Accuses Spain of ‘Hostility’ Towards Israel After Blocking It from Gaza Truce Center

Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday accused Spain of waging a diplomatic campaign against Israel after he barred Madrid from taking part in the work of a US-led center created to help stabilize post-war Gaza.

Relations between Israel and Spain have deteriorated significantly since Madrid recognized a Palestinian state in 2024.

Both countries have withdrawn their ambassadors.

"I have instructed today to remove Spain's representatives from the coordination center in Kiryat Gat, after Spain has chosen repeatedly to stand against Israel," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

"Those who attack the State of Israel instead of confronting terrorist regimes will not be our partners in shaping the region's future."

The Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat, a US-led initiative, was set up after the Gaza ceasefire took effect on October 10, with the goal of monitoring the truce and facilitating the flow of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.

As part of the CMCC, military personnel and diplomats from several other countries including France and Britain, are present and participate in meetings on security and humanitarian issues in Gaza, devastated by more than two years of war.

Representatives of Spain had also been taking part.

Earlier on Friday, Israel's foreign ministry announced Israel had barred Spain from the center.

"Israel will not remain silent in the face of those who attack us," Netanyahu said.

"I am not prepared to tolerate this hypocrisy and hostility. I will not allow any country to conduct a diplomatic war against us without facing an immediate price," he said, referring to the decision to bar Madrid from the CMCC.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel's war on Gaza, which was sparked by Palestinian movement Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

He also opposed the US-Israeli war with Iran that began with strikes on February 28.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sarr has previously accused the Spanish government of "standing with tyrants" by opposing the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

He also accused Spain of being "complicit in inciting genocide against Jews and war crimes" after it recognized a Palestinian state

Spain only established diplomatic ties with Israel in 1986 following the death of dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975, who avoided recognizing Israel.

World

Iran Demands Lebanon Ceasefire, Unfreezing of Assets Before Peace Talks

Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf looks on after a press conference with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, October 12, 2024. (Reuters)
Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf looks on after a press conference with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, October 12, 2024. (Reuters)
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Iran Demands Lebanon Ceasefire, Unfreezing of Assets Before Peace Talks

Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf looks on after a press conference with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, October 12, 2024. (Reuters)
Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf looks on after a press conference with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, October 12, 2024. (Reuters)

Iran said on Friday that blocked Iranian assets must be released and that a ceasefire must take hold in Lebanon before peace talks can proceed, throwing last-minute doubt over negotiations scheduled for Saturday in Pakistan.

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on X that the two measures had been previously agreed with the US and warned that negotiations would not start until they are fulfilled.

There was no immediate comment from the ‌White House.

Earlier, Vice ‌President JD Vance, who will lead the ‌US delegation, ⁠set off for the ⁠talks in Pakistan saying he expected a positive outcome. But "if they're going to try to play us, then they're going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive", Vance added.

Iran has been unable to obtain tens of billions of dollars of its assets in foreign banks, mainly from exports of oil and gas, due to US sanctions on ⁠its banking and energy sectors.

TENUOUS TRUCE

US President Donald ‌Trump announced a two-week ceasefire in the ‌six-week war on Tuesday, just hours before a deadline after which he ‌had threatened to destroy Iran's civilization. However, the truce is tenuous with ‌Israel's continuing bombardment of Lebanon and the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz proving key sticking points for both sides.

The ceasefire has halted the campaign of US and Israeli air strikes on Iran. But it has so ‌far done nothing to end the blockade of the strait, which has caused the biggest-ever disruption to global ⁠energy supplies, ⁠or to calm a parallel war waged by Israel against Iran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.

Iran was doing a "very poor job" of letting oil through the strait, Trump said in a social media post. He also warned Tehran against trying to collect fees from ships crossing it. "That is not the agreement we have!"

Israel has also said that its parallel campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon was not part of the agreed ceasefire.

Israeli strikes continued across southern Lebanon on Friday, with more than a dozen people reported killed in various towns. One strike killed 13 members of Lebanese state security forces.