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European States Move to Secure Red Sea Navigation, Protect Cyprus

This handout satellite image taken by 2026 Planet Labs PBC shows damage at the military harbor in Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz on March 4, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with the killing of Iran's supreme leader and the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by 2026 Planet Labs PBC / AFP)
This handout satellite image taken by 2026 Planet Labs PBC shows damage at the military harbor in Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz on March 4, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with the killing of Iran's supreme leader and the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by 2026 Planet Labs PBC / AFP)
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European States Move to Secure Red Sea Navigation, Protect Cyprus

This handout satellite image taken by 2026 Planet Labs PBC shows damage at the military harbor in Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz on March 4, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with the killing of Iran's supreme leader and the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by 2026 Planet Labs PBC / AFP)
This handout satellite image taken by 2026 Planet Labs PBC shows damage at the military harbor in Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz on March 4, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with the killing of Iran's supreme leader and the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by 2026 Planet Labs PBC / AFP)

European powers said on Thursday they would work together to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea and send naval and other assets to protect Cyprus as the expanding US–Iran war entered its sixth day.

The conflict - which has widened beyond Gulf states to the Mediterranean, where a drone strike hit a British air base on Cypruson Monday, and as far afield as Asia - has convulsed global markets and sent oil and gas prices soaring.

Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands will send naval assets to protect Cyprus in the coming days, Rome's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told parliament, Reuters reported.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with the prime ministers of Italy and Greece on Thursday and "they all agreed to step up cooperation to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea and to coordinate the dispatch of military assets to Cyprus," a senior source said.

The plans ruled out any direct involvement in the war, underlining the delicate balance European governments are seeking to strike over the conflict involving their long-term ally the United States.

"We are not at war and we do not want to enter a war," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a radio interview on Thursday.

On Cyprus, British Defense Secretary John Healey met his Cypriot counterpart on Thursday to discuss plans to further reinforce air defences.

“The longstanding friendship between the UK and the Republic of Cyprus is strong in the face of Iranian threats,” Healey said on X.

Britain has said it will deploy a destroyer to the region along with additional helicopters equipped with counter-drone capabilities, although HMS Dragon is not expected to arrive until next week.

Britain has not joined the US and Israel in taking offensive action against Iran, though it has taken part in defensive operations including shooting down drones. The government has also given the United States permission to launch limited defensive actions from some British bases.

Western officials believe a drone that hit the Akrotiri base on Cyprus was most likely launched by Iran-backed Hezbollah from Lebanon.

Both Britain and the Cypriot administration have said the island would not be used for attacks on Iran.

SPAIN TO SEND FRIGATE

Spain, which had so far refrained from involving itself in defensive operations, said on Thursday it will send its Christopher Columbus frigate used for air defense to Cyprus.

The ship will assist the Patriot missile interceptor system that Spain deploys in Türkiye.

The Dutch government said on Wednesday it was weighing a request to help secure maritime traffic threatened by the escalating crisis.

Meloni said on Thursday Rome would respond to requests from Gulf nations seeking air defense equipment to counter Iranian air strikes, citing the need to protect Italian citizens and troops in the region.

"These are people we want to, and must, protect," she told radio station RTL 102.5.

Sources told Reuters this week that supplies could include SAMP/T surface-to-air missile batteries, although no final decision has been taken and Rome has not specified which countries would receive the aid.

A French military official said on Thursday that Paris has authorized a temporary presence of US aircraft at certain bases in France, provided they do not take part in operations against Iran.

The agreement did not cover French bases in the Middle East, the official said. "Given the context, France demanded that these assets strictly support the defense of our partners in the region," the official said.

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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.