Author: Prima News

A top Vatican official on Friday called for an immediate halt to the escalating conflict involving Iran, warning that the risk of a wider regional war is growing. Speaking on Thursday at the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said he would urge US President Donald Trump “to stop as soon as possible, because the danger of escalation is imminent.” He added that the same appeal “should also be addressed to the Israelis,” encouraging “peaceful solutions.” He also called for Lebanon to be “left in peace” and stressed the need to resolve problems “through the…

Green Party MPs have written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressing “alarm” over what they describe as the UK’s involvement in an “illegal US-Israeli war on Iran.” In a letter on Friday, the group said the UK was “obliged under international law to have no involvement in illegal military action,” including the use of British bases and UK-made weapons. They raised concerns about the humanitarian impact of the conflict, claiming that “well over 1,000 civilians have been killed, including a reported 168 children.” The letter also cited reports that military action in Lebanon is “killing or injuring the equivalent of…

 Costa Rica on Friday extradited former top judge and security minister Celso Gamboa to the United States, where he is wanted on charges ​of international drug trafficking, marking the Central American nation’s first-ever extradition ‌of its own nationals. “Costa Rica is sending a strong message: no one can use our nationality to evade justice,” Attorney General Carlo Diaz said in a video message sent to media. A ​judicial reform in 2025 eliminated a ban on extraditing nationals in a ​bid to combat organized crime that has worsened violence in a ⁠nation long recognized as one of the safest and most…

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the aim of ​Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to ‌fund and deliver the basics of a Gaza reconstruction plan to rebuild Palestinian homes and infrastructure, Politico reported ​on Saturday. -“There is an objective there ​that was defined, approved by the Security ⁠Council, and we are cooperating actively with ​structures created by the Board of Peace,” Guterres ​told the news outlet in an interview. -Guterres saw no need for the board beyond Gaza’s reconstruction: “This is not ​the effective way to address the dramatic ​problems that we have now. We need to be clear ‌about…

The war in the Middle East has triggered a nightmare scenario for the global energy system, slashing so much supply that consumers around the world must both pay up big and lower consumption. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel along the Iranian coast, ​has stopped the passage of 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas since the U.S. and Israel began airstrikes on Iran on February 28. Meanwhile, ongoing strikes by Iran and Israel have ‌targeted Middle East energy infrastructure, doing damage to gas fields, oil refineries, and terminals that industry representatives say…

The British government gave authorisation on Friday for the U.S. to use military bases in Britain to carry out ​strikes on Iranian missile sites that are attacking ships in the Strait ‌of Hormuz. British ministers met on Friday to discuss the war with Iran and Iran’s blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Downing Street statement “They confirmed that the agreement ​for the U.S. to use UK bases in the collective self-defence of ​the region includes U.S. defensive operations to degrade the missile ⁠sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of ​Hormuz,” the statement said. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas…

The U.S. military has multiple MQ-9 drones operating in Nigeria alongside 200 troops ​to provide training and intelligence support to the military, which is fighting Islamist militants across the north, U.S. and ‌Nigerian officials told Reuters. The troops are not integrated within Nigerian units on the frontline and the drones are collecting intelligence and not carrying out airstrikes, officials from the two countries said. However, the U.S. deployment, which follows U.S. airstrikes targeting militants in northwest Nigeria in late 2025, shows the U.S. getting back involved in tackling ​Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked insurgencies that are spreading across West Africa. The U.S.…

Residents across the Cuban capital hauled buckets and lined up for water from tanker trucks ​as a combination of fuel shortages and power ‌grid instability left thousands of taps dry. State water utility Aguas de La Habana confirmed that pumping schedules and supply operations ​have been disrupted by a lack of ​electricity. “This area is now having water problems. People ⁠are hauling water and waiting for the water truck,” ​said resident Lazaro Noblet, while pushing a small handcart ​loaded with containers. “This area is now having water problems. People ⁠are hauling water and waiting for the water truck,” ​said resident…

Colombian President Gustavo Petro is being examined in criminal investigations ​by two U.S. federal prosecutors’ offices, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters ‌on Friday. Petro is not the focus of either investigation, but his conduct has surfaced in narco-terrorism and drug trafficking investigations being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York, the source said. Colombian President Gustavo Petro is being examined in criminal investigations ​by two U.S. federal prosecutors’ offices, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters ‌on Friday. Petro is not the focus of either investigation, but his conduct has surfaced…

The immediate impact is visible in sharp increases in transport costs, energy and fertilizer prices, alongside currency pressures and financial market volatility.“The most immediate economic impact…are considerable increases in freight costs and oil, gas and fertilizer prices,” Hamza Ali Malik, Director of Macroeconomic Policy Division at the UN’s Asia-Pacific development arm (ESCAP) told UN News.He warned that higher inflation, weaker exports and rising debt risks are likely to follow.Strait of Hormuz shockwaves Total number of daily ship transits through Strait of Hormuz. At the centre of the disruption is the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical maritime…