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UK Foreign Minister to Meet Rubio amid Tensions over Joint Air Base

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, president of the United Nations Security Council for February speaks during a press conference before the Security Council meeting, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, president of the United Nations Security Council for February speaks during a press conference before the Security Council meeting, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
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UK Foreign Minister to Meet Rubio amid Tensions over Joint Air Base

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, president of the United Nations Security Council for February speaks during a press conference before the Security Council meeting, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, president of the United Nations Security Council for February speaks during a press conference before the Security Council meeting, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

Britain's foreign minister Yvette Cooper ‌will meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday, after President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of London for ceding sovereignty of ​the Chagos Islands, which is home to a US-UK air base.
Last year, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed a deal to transfer sovereignty of the Indian Ocean islands to Mauritius, while keeping control of one - Diego Garcia - through a 99-year lease that preserved US operations at the base, Reuters said.
Washington last year gave its blessing to the agreement, but Trump has since ‌changed his mind ‌several times. In January, Trump described it ​as ‌an ⁠act ​of "great stupidity", ⁠but earlier this month said he understood the deal was the best Starmer could make, before then renewing his criticism this week.
Cooper is meeting Rubio to discuss defense and security issues in Washington as Trump also toughens his rhetoric on Iran, saying Tehran must make a deal over its nuclear program in the ⁠next 10 to 15 days, or "really bad ‌things" will happen.
The Diego Garcia ‌base has recently been used for ​operations in the Middle East against ‌Yemen's Houthis and in humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Although on Tuesday ‌Rubio's State Department said it backed the Chagos accord, the next day Trump said Britain was making a big mistake.
"DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, saying the ‌base could be called upon in any future military operation to "eradicate a potential attack" from ⁠Iran.
Under the ⁠conditions for using the joint base, Britain would need to agree in advance to any operations out of Diego Garcia.
On Thursday, Britain's The Times newspaper reported that Trump's latest criticism of the Chagos deal came because Britain was yet to give permission to use the bases for future strikes against Iran, owing to concerns they may breach international law.
Asked about The Times report, Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Thursday it does not comment on operational matters and that Britain supported ​the ongoing political process between ​the US and Iran.

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World

Iran Reportedly Fortifies Nuclear Sites, Rallies its People for Return to Combat

Motorbikes drive past Iranian missiles and banners showing portraits of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, center, and the late armed forces commanders and nuclear scientists, who were killed in Israeli and US strikes, displayed in a military exhibition commemorating the anniversary of the start of the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war at Baharestan Square, in Tehran, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Motorbikes drive past Iranian missiles and banners showing portraits of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, center, and the late armed forces commanders and nuclear scientists, who were killed in Israeli and US strikes, displayed in a military exhibition commemorating the anniversary of the start of the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war at Baharestan Square, in Tehran, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Iran Reportedly Fortifies Nuclear Sites, Rallies its People for Return to Combat

Motorbikes drive past Iranian missiles and banners showing portraits of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, center, and the late armed forces commanders and nuclear scientists, who were killed in Israeli and US strikes, displayed in a military exhibition commemorating the anniversary of the start of the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war at Baharestan Square, in Tehran, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Motorbikes drive past Iranian missiles and banners showing portraits of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, center, and the late armed forces commanders and nuclear scientists, who were killed in Israeli and US strikes, displayed in a military exhibition commemorating the anniversary of the start of the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war at Baharestan Square, in Tehran, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran is fortifying its defenses as it prepares for potential American attacks after the midterms and seeks to deter them, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Satellite images show Iran is strengthening sensitive locations, including nuclear sites and border areas, to make them more resilient to attacks, the newspaper said.

This June 15, 2026, photo from Planet Labs PBC shows Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, upper right, and the under-construction at Pickaxe Mountain directly to the south of it. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Last month, it built passive defense measures such as makeshift dirt mounds around its Pickaxe Mountain and Natanz nuclear sites to impede any attempted raid by ground forces, according to Vantor satellite images analyzed by the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit.

Iranian officials are touting their efforts. The country’s airports, seaports and power plants “have prepared for wartime conditions,” installing shelters and backup supplies to continue operating in a crisis, Brig. Gen. Gholamreza Jalali, the official in charge of the country’s contingency plans, told reporters at the end of September.

While US President Donald Trump last week ruled out an attack before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, he has publicly mulled hitting the Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site, and US officials have said that the military is preparing a range of options for new strikes.

Iran’s government is also preparing Iranians for renewed war, sending paramilitary forces to read war stories to kindergartners, advertising training in firing shoulder-mounted antiaircraft missiles and holding rallies.

A banner with a picture of US President Donald Trump next to an Iranian missile system at Azadi Square in Tehran, Iran, July 30, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Billboards in Tehran now advertise civilian training courses in the use of shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles and sniper rifles.

Last month, the Revolutionary Guard boasted that it had trained its first female commando units in guerrilla tactics, firearms use and drone piloting, according to footage posted by the Fatehin, an elite unit of Iran’s Basij volunteer defense forces.

World

Australia Will Do 'Anything We Can' to Stop US Execution Being Shown Online, Says PM

FILE PHOTO: Nidal Hasan, charged with killing 13 people and wounding 31 in a November 2009 shooting spree at Fort Hood, is pictured in an undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on June 29, 2012. REUTERS/Bell County Sheriff's Office/Handout/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Nidal Hasan, charged with killing 13 people and wounding 31 in a November 2009 shooting spree at Fort Hood, is pictured in an undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on June 29, 2012. REUTERS/Bell County Sheriff's Office/Handout/File Photo
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Australia Will Do 'Anything We Can' to Stop US Execution Being Shown Online, Says PM

FILE PHOTO: Nidal Hasan, charged with killing 13 people and wounding 31 in a November 2009 shooting spree at Fort Hood, is pictured in an undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on June 29, 2012. REUTERS/Bell County Sheriff's Office/Handout/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Nidal Hasan, charged with killing 13 people and wounding 31 in a November 2009 shooting spree at Fort Hood, is pictured in an undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on June 29, 2012. REUTERS/Bell County Sheriff's Office/Handout/File Photo

Australia will do whatever it can to stop the "completely abhorrent" livestreaming of the execution of a US prisoner from being available to view in the country, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday.

Nidal Hasan's execution -- scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood, Texas, where he gunned down 13 people in 2009 -- is set to be the first by a US military firing squad since 1945.

A Pentagon official told AFP last week the execution would be streamed live, after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said "we'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public."

Albanese told national broadcaster ABC he had a "social responsibility" to stop it being shown.

"I do not know why anybody would want themselves to watch such an event, let alone sit back and allow potentially kids and families to get access to this," Albanese said.

Australia's internet regulator has said it does not have the power to prevent the execution from being shown online.

Albanese said it was "not as simple as turning off a light switch".

But he said his government would make clear to social media companies that "this has no place in our country".

"If there is anything we can do, we will do, I assure you of that."

Albanese's Environment Minister Murray Watt also said he found the plans "absolutely disgusting".

Plans for Hasan's execution to be shown online have drawn broad revulsion both in the United States and internationally.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said "the livestreaming of an execution is tantamount to a public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture".

In Australia, the issue has prompted rare consensus across the political spectrum in opposition.

Far-right lawmaker Barnaby Joyce described it as "Roman amphitheater stuff", while Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called for regulators to stop the execution being shown in Australia.

World

Macron: French Navy Boards 'Shadow Fleet' Ship in Indian Ocean

France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the "Bpifrance Inno Generation (BIG)" event, in Paris, France, October 8, 2026. Julien De Rosa/Pool via REUTERS
France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the "Bpifrance Inno Generation (BIG)" event, in Paris, France, October 8, 2026. Julien De Rosa/Pool via REUTERS
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Macron: French Navy Boards 'Shadow Fleet' Ship in Indian Ocean

France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the "Bpifrance Inno Generation (BIG)" event, in Paris, France, October 8, 2026. Julien De Rosa/Pool via REUTERS
France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the "Bpifrance Inno Generation (BIG)" event, in Paris, France, October 8, 2026. Julien De Rosa/Pool via REUTERS

The French navy boarded a vessel suspected of illegally smuggling oil in an operation off the Indian Ocean island of Reunion, President Emmanuel Macron said Monday.

Macron vowed no let-up in the struggle against the "shadow fleet" -- a term used for the clandestine network of ships used by Russia to circumvent Western embargoes since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, AFP said.

"This morning, more than 450 nautical miles south of Reunion, our national Navy boarded the tanker DF Peak," Macron posted on X along with a brief video of the operation.

Several European companies have intercepted ships carrying Russian oil in contravention of European sanctions, as they try to target the vital revenue source.

The DF Peak flies a Benin flag and is among the 700 ships on the EU's sanctions list. Prior to 2024, it was called Kaliningrad.

New measures permit European Union members to sell the oil or any other cargo seized from the ships.

Moscow has bristled at the moves, with Russian President Vladimir Putin calling it "piracy and banditry".

The French president's announcement comes amidst European concern regarding the future of the war in Ukraine, following US President Donald Trump's announcement Friday that he had negotiated the delivery of Russian diesel to US and global markets, much to the dismay of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who condemned the breach of US sanctions as "shameful."

For its part, the European Union has pledged to continue strengthening its own measures against Moscow, and its foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, stated on Saturday that the lifting of sanctions on Russian diesel was helping to fuel the Kremlin's war.