• China has publicly criticized Iran amid the Persian Gulf conflict, urging an immediate ceasefire and protection of shipping lanes as the Strait of Hormuz closure disrupts global energy markets.
• Beijing condemned Iran's attacks on Gulf states while aligning temporarily with Europe on ceasefire efforts, though it also warned the U.S. against strikes violating international law.
• This shift highlights changing diplomatic dynamics, creating a brief convergence between China and Brussels amid severe energy market shocks and stalled UN votes on intervention.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was combing an area near where plane came down in south-western Iran; Israeli military strikes ‘Hezbollah infrastructure’ in Lebanon capitalUS F-15E jet confirmed shot down over Iran as Tehran releases wreckage imagesHello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran and its impact on the region, the world and the global economy.Iranian and American forces were racing each other early on Saturday to recover a crew member of the first US fighter jet to go down inside Iran since the start of the war.Tehran rejected a US proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire, said Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, citing an unnamed source. There was no immediate comment from the US. Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran had officially told mediators it was unwilling to meet with US officials in Islamabad in the coming days.The UN force in Lebanon said a blast at one of its positions had wounded three peacekeepers, two of them seriously, in the third such incident in a week.Israeli fire killed a man in Syria’s Quneitra province in the south near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Syrian state media said. The man was killed in an attack by “an Israeli tank”, the Sana agency said, while state TV said a car was targeted.An Egyptian national was killed and four others wounded after a fire at a gas complex in Abu Dhabi, caused by falling debris from an intercepted attack, the government media office said. Two of the four people hurt were from Egypt, while the others were from Pakistan, it said.Trump asked lawmakers to approve a $1.5tr defence budget for 2027 as the US faces rising costs from its war with Iran and mounting global security commitments. The proposal would lift Pentagon spending by more than 40% in a single year – the sharpest increase since the second world war.The US embassy in Lebanon said Iran and allied groups could seek to target universities in the country, where Tehran-backed Hezbollah is at war with Israel and Israeli troops are carrying out a ground invasion.Three tankers, including one co-owned by a Japanese company, crossed the strait of Hormuz by hugging close to Oman’s shore –a rare transit route – maritime traffic data showed on Friday. With agencies Continue reading...
Ripple effects of oil and fertiliser shortage felt by farmers in India and Sri Lanka despite governments saying there is enough stock to go roundGurvinder Singh never thought the war in Iran would touch his quiet corner of Punjab.Yet looking out over his smallholding, where he alternates between wheat and rice crops in the state known as India’s breadbasket, the 52-year-old farmer can barely think of anything else. His anxiety over a conflict playing out thousands of miles away is crippling as he fears what will come of this season’s rice crop. Continue reading...
Misogynistic abuse of female staff is increasing, leaving teachers feeling ‘traumatised’ and ‘humiliated’Teachers’ leaders have said a “masculinity crisis” is fermenting in schools across the UK, with misogynistic abuse of female staff on the increase, leaving victims “traumatised”, “demeaned” and “humiliated”.Almost a quarter of female teachers who took part in a union survey said they have been the target of misogyny from a pupil over the past 12 months – the highest proportion in the last four years of surveys. Continue reading...
As Trump suggests Middle East oil disruption is not his problem, experts say talk of US ‘energy independence’ is a smokescreen – with consumers paying the priceA month has passed since the US and Israel’s war on Iran all but closed the strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil supplies typically flow. Prices have surged, amid fears of sustained disruption to global supplies.Donald Trump argues this is not his country’s problem. “Go get your own oil!” the president urged countries, including the UK, earlier this week. The US has “plenty”, he added. The US is “totally independent” of the Middle East, the president claimed in a prime-time address on Wednesday. “We don’t need their oil.” Continue reading...
US president warns Iran after strike; UN vote on authorizing the use of ‘defensive’ force to protect shipping in the strait of Hormuz delayedFull report: Trump warns Tehran ‘more to follow’ after strike destroys Iran’s largest bridge Continue reading...
Former government adviser Polly Billington urges bigger steps to shield people in UK from effects of Iran warMiddle East crisis – live updatesKeir Starmer should convene a global energy summit of the same order as Gordon Brown’s response to the 2008 financial crisis and put Britain on a “war footing” to reduce its exposure to fossil fuels, a Labour MP and former government adviser has said.Polly Billington, who was an aide in Brown’s government, warned that economic pain was “hurtling down the tracks” and a bigger response was needed to protect the British people from the consequences of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Continue reading...
• Brazil and Paraguay finalized a bilateral agreement on Thursday to jointly develop and operate expanded hydroelectric capacity along the Paraná River, addressing critical energy shortages affecting both nations and the broader South American grid.
• The $8.7 billion infrastructure project aims to increase regional electricity output by 28% within five years and includes provisions for technology transfer and workforce development across both countries.
• The agreement emerged from emergency regional meetings convened by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) following cascading power grid failures that left 85 million people without electricity across South America in early March.
• The United Nations humanitarian coordinator reported on Thursday that drought conditions across East Africa have intensified, affecting approximately 24 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia with critical water and food shortages.
• The organization is requesting $3.2 billion in emergency humanitarian assistance for 2026, warning that without immediate intervention, malnutrition rates could exceed 2022 levels when the region experienced famine conditions.
• US Agency for International Development (USAID) announced an additional $450 million in emergency aid packages, representing a 40% increase from the previous fiscal year allocation for East African relief operations.
Image: AG Bull