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Macron to Visit Cyprus as France Deploys Warships to Mediterranean

This photograph shows screens broadcasting French President Emmanuel Macron's address on the war in Iran and its repercussions in the Middle East, from the Elysee Palace in Paris on March 3, 2026. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)
This photograph shows screens broadcasting French President Emmanuel Macron's address on the war in Iran and its repercussions in the Middle East, from the Elysee Palace in Paris on March 3, 2026. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)
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Macron to Visit Cyprus as France Deploys Warships to Mediterranean

This photograph shows screens broadcasting French President Emmanuel Macron's address on the war in Iran and its repercussions in the Middle East, from the Elysee Palace in Paris on March 3, 2026. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)
This photograph shows screens broadcasting French President Emmanuel Macron's address on the war in Iran and its repercussions in the Middle East, from the Elysee Palace in Paris on March 3, 2026. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)

President Emmanuel Macron will visit Cyprus on Monday, his office said, as France deploys warships to the Mediterranean following a drone attack on the island EU member days ago.

Macron will meet Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paphos to show "solidarity" and detail moves to "strengthen security around Cyprus and in the eastern Mediterranean", the Elysee said on Sunday.

The visit will take place as the war pitting US and Israel against Iran is in its second week, affecting much of the Middle East, AFP reported.

Cyprus on Monday was targeted by Iranian-made drones, leading Macron to order France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean and a frigate and air defence units to Cyprus.

"This trip is intended to demonstrate France's solidarity with Cyprus, a member state of the European Union with which we have a strategic partnership" and which was recently hit "by several drones and missile strikes", the Elysee said.

France has insisted its stance in the region is "strictly defensive".

The visit to Cyprus will also allow Macron "to emphasize the importance of guaranteeing freedom of navigation and maritime security in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, in particular through the European Union's Aspides maritime operation," it added.

There have been numerous attacks on ships navigating the Strait of Hormuz since the US-Israeli war on Iran started on February 28.

A government spokesman for Cyprus, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, said the visit will allow the leaders of Cyprus, Greece, and France to assess the "high level of coordination" between their nations.

Letymbiotis also highlighted the role of Italy, which like the United Kingdom, has deployed a warship to Cyprus.

On Sunday, Macron wrote on X that he had also spoken with the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the president of Azerbaijan.

Discussing the region with the Qatari ruler, Macron said he highlighted France's "defensive military support," particularly in the air, which he noted is deployed to the "benefit of Qatar."

"Qatar and France share the same conviction: beyond the clamour of arms, lasting stability for all must come through de-escalation and negotiation," Macron added.

Macron also said he offered France's "support and solidarity" to Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev after a drone strike on the country, which neighbors Iran, raised fears that the Middle East war could spill into the Caucasus.

 

 

 

 

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World

Pope Leo Marks First Easter as Pontiff with Call for Hope Amid Global Conflicts

Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)
Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)
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Pope Leo Marks First Easter as Pontiff with Call for Hope Amid Global Conflicts

Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)
Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)

Pope Leo celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a call Sunday to exercise hope against “the violence of war that kills and destroys,” saying “we need this song of hope today” as conflicts spread around the world.

With the US-Israeli war on Iran in its second month and Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine, Leo has repeatedly called for a halt in hostilities. In his Easter homily, the pope singled out those who wage war, abuse the weak and prioritize profits.

Leo, the first US-born pope, addressed the faithful from an open-air altar in St. Peter’s Square flanked with white roses, while the steps leading down to the piazza where the faithful gathered were filled with spring perennials, symbolically resonating with the pope’s message of hope.

The pontiff implored the faithful to keep their hope in the face of death, which lurks “in injustices, in partisan selfishness, in the oppression of the poor, in the lack of attention given to the most vulnerable.

“We see it in violence, in the wounds of the world, in the cry of pain that rises from every corner because of the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because of the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys,” he said.

He quoted his predecessor Pope Francis in warning against falling into indifference in the face of “persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty,” because “it is also true that in the midst of darkness, something new always springs to life and sooner or later produces fruit.”

He will later deliver the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” message — Latin for “to the city and the world.”

Christians in the Holy Land were marking a subdued Easter Traditional ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered by Christians as the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, were scaled back under an agreement with Israeli police. Authorities have put limits on the sizes of public gatherings due to ongoing missile attacks.

The restrictions also dampened the recent Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday, as well as the current weeklong Jewish festival of Passover. On Sunday, the Jewish priestly blessing at the Western Wall — normally attended by tens of thousands — was limited to just 50 people.

The restrictions have strained relations between Israeli authorities and Christian leaders. Police last week prevented two of the church’s top religious leaders, including Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from celebrating Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

On Tuesday, the pope had expressed hope that the war could be finished before Easter.

World

France Condemns China’s Execution of a French Citizen Held on Death Row for 15 Years

A child holds a Chinese national flag near the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Beijing, China, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP)
A child holds a Chinese national flag near the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Beijing, China, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP)
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France Condemns China’s Execution of a French Citizen Held on Death Row for 15 Years

A child holds a Chinese national flag near the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Beijing, China, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP)
A child holds a Chinese national flag near the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Beijing, China, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP)

France said China has executed a French citizen convicted of drug trafficking after keeping him on death row for more than 15 years. 

Chan Thao Phoumy, 62, was executed in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, despite French authorities’ clemency appeals, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Saturday. It didn’t say when the sentence was carried out. A Chinese court sentenced him to death in 2010. 

The ministry’s statement expressed “consternation” and added: “We particularly regret that Mr. Chan’s defense did not have access to the final court hearing, which constitutes a violation of his rights.” 

“We extend our condolences to his family, whose grief we share,” it said. 

In a short statement Sunday that didn't mention Chan by name, the Chinese Embassy in Paris said that China “treats defendants of all nationalities equally, handles all cases impartially and strictly in accordance with the law.” 

France abolished the death penalty by act of parliament in 1981, and has become a vigorous campaigner against its use and for its abolition everywhere. 

China's use of executions — carried out by firing squads or lethal injections — is shrouded in secrecy but has long been extensive. Amnesty International says China is the world's lead executioner, believed to sentence and put to death thousands of people annually. 

World

Iran Internet Blackout Is Longest Nationwide Shutdown on Record, Says NetBlocks

Iranians pose for pictures as they celebrate Iranian Nature's Day on the thirteenth day of Nowruz (Persian New Year), in a park in Tehran, Iran, 02 April 2026. (EPA)
Iranians pose for pictures as they celebrate Iranian Nature's Day on the thirteenth day of Nowruz (Persian New Year), in a park in Tehran, Iran, 02 April 2026. (EPA)
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Iran Internet Blackout Is Longest Nationwide Shutdown on Record, Says NetBlocks

Iranians pose for pictures as they celebrate Iranian Nature's Day on the thirteenth day of Nowruz (Persian New Year), in a park in Tehran, Iran, 02 April 2026. (EPA)
Iranians pose for pictures as they celebrate Iranian Nature's Day on the thirteenth day of Nowruz (Persian New Year), in a park in Tehran, Iran, 02 April 2026. (EPA)

Iran's internet blackout, first imposed well over a month ago, is now the longest nationwide shutdown on record, according to the monitor NetBlocks.

"Iran's internet blackout is now the longest nation-scale internet shutdown on record in any country, exceeding all other comparable incidents in severity having entered its 37th consecutive day after 864 hours," NetBlocks said in a tweet.

In another tweet, the monitor noted some countries had experienced intermittent or regional-level shutdowns over longer periods, while North Korea had never been connected to the global internet at all.