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UK to Call for Toll-free Strait of Hormuz, Wants Lebanon in Ceasefire Deal

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper prepares to speak during a virtual summit at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London, England, April 2, 2026. Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper prepares to speak during a virtual summit at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London, England, April 2, 2026. Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS
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UK to Call for Toll-free Strait of Hormuz, Wants Lebanon in Ceasefire Deal

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper prepares to speak during a virtual summit at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London, England, April 2, 2026. Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper prepares to speak during a virtual summit at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London, England, April 2, 2026. Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS

British Foreign ‌Secretary Yvette Cooper will say on Thursday that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries around a fifth of the world's oil and gas, must be toll-free, countering a push by Iran to control the vital waterway.

Iran has ‌said it ‌wants to charge fees ‌for ⁠ships to pass through ⁠the Strait of Hormuz. Before the US-Israeli war with Iran, the strait was formally treated as an international waterway.

"The fundamental freedoms of the ⁠seas must not be unilaterally ‌withdrawn or ‌sold off to individual bidders. ‌Nor can there be any place ‌for tolls on an international waterway. Freedom of navigation means navigation must be free," Cooper will say ‌in an annual foreign policy speech at Mansion ⁠House ⁠in London, according to advance extracts.

Cooper will also repeat calls by world leaders for Lebanon to be included in a two-week ceasefire agreed between Iran and the US on Tuesday. Israel on Wednesday launched its biggest attacks yet on Lebanon, targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.

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Arab World

Drone Strike Kills 12, Including Children, in Sudan's Darfur

08 April 2026, Chad, Aboutengye: Women and girls wait for water distribution at the Aboutengue refugee camp in eastern Chad near the border with Sudan. Photo: Eva Krafczyk/dpa
08 April 2026, Chad, Aboutengye: Women and girls wait for water distribution at the Aboutengue refugee camp in eastern Chad near the border with Sudan. Photo: Eva Krafczyk/dpa
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Drone Strike Kills 12, Including Children, in Sudan's Darfur

08 April 2026, Chad, Aboutengye: Women and girls wait for water distribution at the Aboutengue refugee camp in eastern Chad near the border with Sudan. Photo: Eva Krafczyk/dpa
08 April 2026, Chad, Aboutengye: Women and girls wait for water distribution at the Aboutengue refugee camp in eastern Chad near the border with Sudan. Photo: Eva Krafczyk/dpa

A drone strike on Kutum in Sudan's North Darfur state has killed 12 civilians, including six children, a medical source and local activists said Thursday.

A medical source told AFP that those brought to the town's hospital included 12 dead, among them six children, including three secondary school students. Sixteen others were injured, including women and children, and are receiving treatment.

The El-Fasher Resistance Committee, a pro-democracy group, said the strike on Wednesday hit the Al-Salama neighborhood near Al-Um Girls' School, blaming the Sudanese army, which has been at war with the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023.

Arab World

Palestinian Health Ministry: Israeli Fire Kills One in West Bank

A resident inspects a car that, according to the Palestine Red Crescent, was torched by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Tayasir, near Tubas, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
A resident inspects a car that, according to the Palestine Red Crescent, was torched by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Tayasir, near Tubas, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
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Palestinian Health Ministry: Israeli Fire Kills One in West Bank

A resident inspects a car that, according to the Palestine Red Crescent, was torched by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Tayasir, near Tubas, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
A resident inspects a car that, according to the Palestine Red Crescent, was torched by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Tayasir, near Tubas, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

The Palestinian health ministry said on Thursday that Israeli forces fatally shot a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank a day earlier, while the Israeli military said an off-duty soldier fired at a stone-thrower.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry said 28-year-old Alaa Khaled Mohammed Sbeih "was shot and killed" by Israeli forces on Wednesday night near the village of Tayasir in the northern West Bank.

The military said troops were dispatched to the area on Wednesday "following a report of an incident between Palestinians and Israeli civilians, which included hurling rocks," adding that an Israeli and a Palestinian civilian were injured in the incident and taken to hospital.

"From initial inquiry, it emerged that an off-duty soldier fired toward a Palestinian after he threw stones at the Israeli civilians," the statement said, adding that the incident was under review.

The military often uses the term off-duty soldier to refer to Israeli settlers in the West Bank, who also serve in the army and sometimes carry their weapons with them when off duty.

Violence in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, has surged since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas which triggered the war in Gaza.

It has continued despite a ceasefire in Gaza in effect since October.

According to an AFP tally based on figures from the Palestinian health ministry, at least 1,057 Palestinians -- including many militants as well as civilians -- have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war.

At least 46 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, have been killed in the same territory in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli data.

Arab World

China Says Lebanon Sovereignty 'Should Not Be Violated' after Israel Strikes

In this image taken from video, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning speaks during a regular briefing held in Beijing, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Liu Zheng)
In this image taken from video, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning speaks during a regular briefing held in Beijing, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Liu Zheng)
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China Says Lebanon Sovereignty 'Should Not Be Violated' after Israel Strikes

In this image taken from video, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning speaks during a regular briefing held in Beijing, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Liu Zheng)
In this image taken from video, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning speaks during a regular briefing held in Beijing, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Liu Zheng)

Beijing said on Thursday that Lebanon's sovereignty "should not be violated" after Israel carried out strikes on the country, threatening a fragile truce.

"Lebanon's sovereignty and security should not be violated. The safety of civilian lives and property must be guaranteed," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular press conference, adding Beijing urged restraint and "a cooling down of the regional situation".