News24 World

President Donald Trump on Monday told allies the US would not need “much help” in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, as he attended a G7 summit meeting of leading powers in France, dominated by questions over his deal with Iran to end the Middle East war.

US President Donald Trump joined global leaders on Monday at the ‌Group of Seven summit at a French lakeside resort, where relief over a deal to end the Iran ⁠war was tempered by unease over new US tariff threats aimed at France.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained virtually at a standstill on Monday, according to tracking platforms, despite US President Donald Trump’s claim that crossings were resuming under his deal to end the war with Iran.

Israeli strikes and ⁠gunfire killed at least four Palestinians in Gaza on Monday, health officials said, as mediators prepared ⁠for further ceasefire talks in Cairo to safeguard a US-brokered peace plan for the tiny war-ravaged Palestinian enclave.

The US-Iran agreement to conclude the Middle East war is a significant strategic setback for Israel and underscores its waning influence in Washington, Israeli analysts said.

The deal between the United States and Iran to end their war, negotiated in secret and still not revealed in detail, was greeted with scepticism but a measure of relief among ordinary people across the Middle East.

Located on the borders of Cameroon, Nigeria and Chad, Darak is valuable to local and national economies – and to violent extremists, write Célestin Delanga and Abélégué Alliance Fidèle in ISS Today.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly declared Iran and the US are on the verge of agreeing on a deal to end the Middle East war, but a litany of sticking points has delayed finalising an accord and will complicate its implementation, analysts say.

The United States and Iran agreed to a peace deal and an “immediate and permanent” end to military operations on all fronts including Lebanon, signaling the apparent end to more than three months of war in Middle East.

Congolese lawmakers this week passed a referendum bill that could lead to constitutional reform ahead of the 2028 elections. The opposition has warned of a “constitutional coup”.

LGBTQ+ organisations in Kenya are struggling: Deep funding cuts, not just during Pride, have forced layoffs, shrinking services and tough choices. But organisations that serve queer communities are adapting.

Ukraine will ‌hike military wages and seek to recruit more fighters abroad, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday, as the ‌army faces a staffing shortage after four ⁠years of war with Russia.

The US Supreme Court blocked Alabama from executing a death row inmate by using nitrogen gas, in a rare last-minute intervention after a lower court ruled the method was likely unconstitutional.

British artist David Hockney, one of the most influential and defining figures in contemporary art, whose paintings captured the world in brilliant colour, has died aged 88.

India urged the United States to halt strikes on shipping after three US attacks on ‌Indian-crewed tankers this week, including one that killed three sailors.

British defence minister John Healey quit over a months-long dispute over military spending, accusing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer of failing to commit the resources that are needed to keep the country safe from mounting threats.

Thai Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s eldest daughter, died aged 47 from an abdominal infection after being hospitalised since December 2022.

US President Donald Trump said he wanted to take over Kharg Island, Iran’s oil infrastructure hub.

Tehran said it had not reached a final decision on a deal to end the Middle East war, despite US President Donald Trump claiming an agreement could be signed in days and cancelling threatened strikes on Iran.

Europe’s leading nations and their G7 allies will seek to narrow differences with Donald Trump at a summit from Monday in France chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron but expected to be dominated by the US leader’s presence.