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Afghanistan’s Neighbors Signal Opposition to US Retaking Bagram Base 

Participants of the 7th meeting of the Moscow Format of Consultations on Afghanistan, including Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Afghanistan's Taliban acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, pose for a picture in Moscow, Russia, October 7, 2025. (Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
Participants of the 7th meeting of the Moscow Format of Consultations on Afghanistan, including Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Afghanistan's Taliban acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, pose for a picture in Moscow, Russia, October 7, 2025. (Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
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Afghanistan’s Neighbors Signal Opposition to US Retaking Bagram Base 

Participants of the 7th meeting of the Moscow Format of Consultations on Afghanistan, including Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Afghanistan's Taliban acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, pose for a picture in Moscow, Russia, October 7, 2025. (Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
Participants of the 7th meeting of the Moscow Format of Consultations on Afghanistan, including Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Afghanistan's Taliban acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, pose for a picture in Moscow, Russia, October 7, 2025. (Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters)

Afghanistan's regional neighbors, including American allies, appeared to unite against US President Donald Trump's stated aim of taking over the Bagram military base near Kabul, according to a statement released after they met in Moscow.

The "Moscow Format" meeting on Afghanistan - the seventh such event hosted by Russia but attended for the first time by the Taliban administration's foreign minister - included US partners India and Pakistan. The 10 nations also included Russia, China and Iran, as well as Central Asian countries.

In a joint statement released by Russia's foreign ministry late on Tuesday, the 10 countries did not name the United States or Bagram itself, but seemed to take aim at Trump's plan for the base, endorsing the Taliban's position on the issue.

"They (the countries meeting) called unacceptable the attempts by countries to deploy their military infrastructure in Afghanistan and neighboring states, since this does not serve the interests of regional peace and stability," the joint statement read.

TALIBAN OPPOSITION TO FOREIGN FORCES

At a press conference on Tuesday in Moscow at the conclusion of the event, the Taliban's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi reiterated its position.

"Afghanistan is a free and independent country, and throughout history, it has never accepted the military presence of foreigners. Our decision and policy will remain the same to keep Afghanistan free and independent," he said.

The US Department of State did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Taliban's first administration was ousted in 2001 by a US-led invasion of the country, triggering an insurgency by the group.

Bagram, just outside the capital Kabul, became the biggest and best-known US base in Afghanistan before the chaotic US withdrawal from the country in 2021 as the Taliban retook control.

Last month, Trump threatened "bad things" would happen to Afghanistan if it does not give back Bagram and cited what he called its strategic location near China.

Current and former US officials have cast doubt on Trump's goal, saying that re-occupying Bagram might end up looking like a re-invasion, requiring more than 10,000 troops, as well as deployment of advanced air defenses.

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Israel Says Haifa Residential Building Suffers Direct Hit in Iran Attack

Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP)
Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP)
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Israel Says Haifa Residential Building Suffers Direct Hit in Iran Attack

Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP)
Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP)

The Israeli military and medics said on Sunday that a missile fired from Iran hit a residential building in the northern city of Haifa, injuring four people.

The building was hit by a "direct impact of a missile", the military told AFP. When asked if it was a missile fired from Iran, it said: "Yes."

The strike occurred minutes after the military warned it had detected a new round of missiles fired from Iran.

In a separate statement, Israel's emergency service, Magen David Adom, said four people were wounded when a seven-storey building sustained a direct hit.

Images and footage published by MDA show smoke rising from the remains of a flattened building in a densely populated area, and stretchers laid on the road by rescuers for casualties.

The injured included an 82-year-old man, MDA said, adding that he was in a "serious condition".

He was "wounded by a heavy object and the blast", the MDA said, adding that the other three suffered shrapnel and blast injuries.

MDA paramedic Shevach Rothenshtrych quoted residents saying that there were casualties trapped under the rubble on the lower floors, and the 82-year-old was rescued after first responders "managed to move large pieces of concrete with our hands".

His colleague Tal Shustak said that when emergency calls were received, "we were dispatched in large forces to the scene and saw extensive destruction, including glass, smoke and concrete scattered across the ground".

World

China Ready to Cooperate With Russia to Ease Middle East Tension, Foreign Minister Says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
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China Ready to Cooperate With Russia to Ease Middle East Tension, Foreign Minister Says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)

China is willing to continue to cooperate with Russia at the UN Security Council and make efforts to cool down the Middle East situation, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone call on Sunday. 

Wang said the fundamental way to resolve navigation issues in the Strait of Hormuz is to achieve a ‌ceasefire as soon ‌as possible, adding that China has ‌always ⁠advocated political settlement of ⁠hotspot issues through dialogue and negotiation. 

The foreign ministers' call came ahead of a UN Security Council vote next week on a Bahraini resolution to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz. 

As permanent ⁠UNSC members, China and Russia ‌should "adopt an objective and balanced ‌approach and seek to win greater understanding and ‌support from the international community," Wang told Lavrov, ‌according to a statement from his ministry. 

A Russian Foreign Ministry statement said the ministers discussed ways to achieve a rapid ceasefire and "launch a political-diplomatic dialogue." 

"Satisfaction ‌was expressed at the coincidence in Russia's and China's approaches on most ⁠issues ⁠on the global agenda, including the situation around Iran, related to the unprovoked aggression of the US and Israel against that country," it said. 

China has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the Gulf region and Middle East, urging an end to the fighting that has run for more than a month and largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping artery for oil and gas. 

World

Migrants Missing after Mediterranean Capsize: NGOs

Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
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Migrants Missing after Mediterranean Capsize: NGOs

Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS

Dozens of people are missing after a migrant boat capsized in the central Mediterranean, the NGOs Mediterranea Saving Humans and Sea-Watch said Sunday on social media.

Two people died and 32 were rescued from the boat, which had left Libya on Saturday afternoon with around 105 people on board, according to Mediterranea Saving Humans, AFP reported.

"Tragic Easter shipwreck. 32 survivors, two bodies recovered and more than 70 people missing," the NGO wrote on X, adding that the boat capsized in a search-and-rescue zone handled by Libyan authorities.

Sea-Watch said two commercial ships saved the survivors and took them to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

An aerial video it posted showed two men clinging to the hull of the capsized vessel, and the approach of one of the commercial ships.

Mediterranea Saving Humans said the accident was "the consequence of policies by European governments that refuse to open safe and legal pathways" for migrants.

Lampedusa is a key entry point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe.

Since the start of 2026, at least 683 migrants have lost their lives or gone missing on attempts to cross the sea, according to the UN's migration agency IOM.

According to the Italian government, 6,175 migrants arrived on Italian territory over the same period.