A spate of attacks against civilians and military bases in Colombia's southwestern region has raised security concerns as the country heads to a May presidential election.(Image credit: Santiago Saldarriaga)
Tehran’s UN envoy says ‘full respect’ of Iran’s rights also key for lasting regional stabilityUS is being ‘humiliated’ by Iran’s leadership, says Friedrich MerzWe are restarting our live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran.Iran needs “credible guarantees” against more US-Israeli attacks before it can ensure security in the Gulf, Tehran’s envoy to the UN has said, while on a Russian visit Iran’s foreign minister blamed Washington for the failure of peace talks.Donald Trump is unhappy with an Iranian proposal on the war because it does not address Iran’s nuclear program, Reuters cited a US official as saying on Monday, after Trump discussed the proposal with his top national security aides. Iran had offered to end its closure of the strait of Hormuz if the US lifted its blockade and ended the war in a proposal that would postpone discussions on Iran’s nuclear program, the Associated Press reported earlier, citing two unnamed regional officials. Later reporting quoted White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt as saying the proposal was “being discussed”.Lebanese president Joseph Aoun said direct talks with Israel sought to end the war on Lebanon and that those who dragged Lebanon into it were the ones committing “treason” – a jab at the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah, which claimed several attacks on Israeli targets in south Lebanon on Monday.Iraq’s newly elected president nominated businessman Ali al-Zaidi as the country’s prime minister-designate on Monday, after the country’s leaders yielded to US pressure not to support the bid of a former premier close to Iran.The Coordination Framework – an alliance of Shia factions with varying links to Iran – had initially backed powerbroker Nouri al-Maliki to become the country’s next premier, but Trump’s ultimatum left Iraqi leaders looking elsewhere.The US and Iran clashed at the UN on Monday over Tehran’s nuclear program and its selection to be one of dozens of vice-presidents at a month-long conference to review the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. US official Christopher Yeaw said Iran’s selection was an “affront” to the treaty. Tehran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reza Najafi, rejected the US statement as “baseless and politically motivated”. Continue reading...
• President Trump ends 24-hour media truce sparked by White House Correspondents' Dinner incident with renewed criticisms.
• Hostilities resume after one uncomfortable press question, highlighting ongoing tensions.
• Occurs amid White House defenses against Democrats on political violence claims.
Russian backing for the ruling junta has not stopped rebel fighters striking significant blows in recent daysWhen Assimi Goïta, the leader of Mali’s military junta, sat down with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in the Kremlin last summer, it symbolised Moscow’s commanding sway over Mali at the expense of the west.As the two men spoke, roughly 3,500 miles to the south, about 2,000 Russian troops were propping up the regime in the landlocked desert country, as part of Moscow’s broader push for influence across the Sahel region. Continue reading...
Across country, more than 10 people have been injured as Ukrainian prime minister Julia Svyrydenko prepares to visit PolandAnother night of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine overnight left more than 10 people injured, particularly damaging residential buildings in the Odesa region.The strikes caused the biggest damage in the central Prymorskyi district, where residential buildings, a hotel and facilities in the center of the city were damaged, Serhiy Lysak, the head of the local military administration, said on Telegram in comments reported by Reuters. Continue reading...
Engineer and two drivers killed in recent weeks as scarcity of clean water fuels spread of preventable diseasesIsraeli forces in Gaza killed a water engineer and two drivers who transported water to displaced families over four days in mid-April, exacerbating severe shortages of clean water that are fuelling the spread of preventable disease.Israeli limits on the shipment of soap, washing powder and other hygiene products into Gaza have also forced prices up, adding to the challenge of keeping clean and avoiding infection in overcrowded shelters and tent encampments. Continue reading...
Car bomb kills Sadio Camara at home during coordinated assaults by rebel groups including West African al-Qaida affiliateMali’s defence minister was killed in an attack on his residence, the government said on Sunday, a high-profile fatality during coordinated assaults staged the previous day by insurgents including the West African affiliate of al-Qaida.A car laden with explosives driven by a suicide attacker drove into Sadio Camara’s residence in the town of Kati, the spokesperson, Issa Ousmane Coulibaly, said in a statement read out on state television. A firefight ensued, and Camara sustained injuries from which he later died in a hospital, Coulibaly said, adding that Mali would observe two days of mourning. Continue reading...
Al-Qaida-linked group JNIM claims responsibility for strikes on airport in capital, Bamako, and four other citiesIslamic militants and separatists attacked several locations in Mali’s capital and other cities on Saturday in one of the largest coordinated attacks in the country in recent years.The al-Qaida-linked militant group JNIM claimed responsibility for the attacks on Bamako’s international airport and four other cities in central and northern Mali on its website Azallaq. It said the attacks were carried out jointly with the Azawad Liberation Front, a Tuareg-led separatist group. Continue reading...
Iranian intelligence services apparently recruiting via intermediaries to mount attacks aimed at sowing chaosIranian intelligence services and Revolutionary Guards operatives are recruiting teenagers through criminal intermediaries to launch a wave of low-level “hybrid warfare” attacks in Europe and the UK, according to investigators, security officials, analysts and police documents.A first wave of attacks was launched in early March, 10 days after the US and Israel began strikes on Iran, and targeted Jewish community sites in Belgium, the Netherlands and US banks. A second wave has focused on the UK, with a series of arson and attempted arson attacks on synagogues, a Jewish charity and the offices of an Iranian opposition TV network in London. Continue reading...
• IBM announced IBM Autonomous Security on April 15, 2026, deploying coordinated AI agents to detect and contain threats at machine speed without human intervention.
• The service addresses a critical gap: attackers now achieve full network lateral movement in as little as 27 seconds, compared to an average of 29 minutes in 2024—a 65% speed improvement driving urgent demand for AI-powered defenses.
• AI-enabled attacks surged 89% year-over-year in 2025, with a 44% increase in assaults exploiting public-facing applications, prompting major security vendors to adopt autonomous AI defense strategies.
• Operant AI launched CodeInjectionGuard on April 22, 2026, a tool that blocks malicious code execution by AI agents at runtime.
• The guard defends against code injection attacks, preventing supply chain compromises in autonomous AI systems.
• It secures AI agents used in critical operations, addressing rising cybersecurity risks in AI deployments.
Officials warn a conflict situation could cause disruption similar to recent major ransomware incidentsThe UK could face “hacktivist attacks at scale” if it becomes embroiled in a conflict and the impact could be similar to recent high-profile ransomware incidents, according to the head of the country’s online security agency.Richard Horne, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), will warn today that nation states now account for the most significant incidents the NCSC deals with. Continue reading...
Seven held over alleged plot to commit another attack and man held over drone incident near Israeli embassySeven more people have been arrested after a series of arson attacks on Jewish sites in London.The Metropolitan police said the suspects were arrested in the past 48 hours over an alleged conspiracy to commit a further arson attack, although the specific target is not yet known. Continue reading...
• Iran launched drone attacks targeting US warships in retaliation for the seizure of an Iranian cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
• The strikes mark a sharp escalation, with both sides issuing warnings as a fragile ceasefire nears expiry and diplomacy falters.
• Fears mount of wider regional conflict disrupting global oil flows through the world's critical waterway.
Criminals paid on behalf of Iran are believed to be behind attacks against Jewish targets, say detectives Detectives are investigating whether the series of arson attacks in London were planned for weeks with suspects carrying out reconnaissance on the Jewish targets to be firebombed.The series of attacks against synagogues and other Jewish targets, as well as one premises linked to Iranian dissidents, are believed to be carried out by criminals paid on behalf of Iran, police said. Continue reading...
After Guardian reports about danger to V2X employees, sources say state department raised concerns with defense contractorSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe US government has called on the defense contractor V2X to evacuate its employees from Kuwait and Iraq, warning the company that they could be targeted by Iran-backed militias, four sources said.The intervention follows reporting by the Guardian that V2X employees were stationed at US military bases in Kuwait, and at Martyr Brigadier General Ali Flaih airbase and Erbil in Iraq. Employees claimed having inadequate protections, receiving limited communications from the company about evacuation plans and being pressured to remain in the Middle East. In Iraq, workers say they are targets of Iran-allied attacks, and one employee was killed in a night-time drone attack in March. Continue reading...
• IBM launched IBM Autonomous Security on April 17, 2026, a multi-agent AI service automating detection, policy enforcement, and remediation against frontier AI-driven attacks in hybrid environments.
• The solution addresses emerging 'agentic attacks' where adversaries use advanced AI models, with nearly 80% of global IT leaders citing AI as a major security risk.
• IBM also released an enterprise cybersecurity assessment tool focused on threats from large language models and generative AI.
Met police look into incident near office of Iran International after attempted firebombing of a synagogueCounter terror investigators are examining three separate arson attacks in London against an Iranian dissident and Jewish targets amid fears the Iranian state may be behind them.The latest attack came on Wednesday evening at about 8.30pm against the offices of the parent group of a company that runs Iran International, a Persian news channel which opposes the regime in Tehran. Continue reading...
Lebanese health ministry says killing of 91 healthcare workers shows ‘total disregard’ for international lawMiddle East crisis – live updatesWhen they received the call to respond to an Israeli airstrike in the city of Mayfadoun, in southern Lebanon, most of the paramedics held back, having previously seen colleagues killed by double-tap attacks targeting rescuers. But the medics from the Islamic Health Association (IHA) rushed to the scene.By the time the other emergency workers arrived at the site, they found the IHA medics had indeed been caught in a second strike. They started evacuating their wounded colleagues, only for their ambulances to be hit in two further attacks. Continue reading...
Killing of Lauren Bullis and woman not yet identified in ‘random’ Monday attacks draws attention of Trump officialsAn Atlanta man has been charged in a string of attacks over a matter of hours that left two women dead and a man in critical condition, drawing the Trump administration’s attention after one of the victims was identified as a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employee who was walking her dog.The killing of the DHS worker, Lauren Bullis, and shootings of the two other victims on Monday led homeland security secretary Markwayne Mullin to issue a statement raising concerns that the 26-year-old suspect, British native Olaolukitan Adon Abel, was granted US citizenship in 2022. Continue reading...
Remarks come as Italian PM suspends defence agreement with Israel amid growing domestic pressure over conflictDonald Trump lashed out at one of his closest allies on Tuesday, saying Italy’s Giorgia Meloni lacked courage in light of her failure to join the US in attacking Iran.“I’m shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” the US president said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. Continue reading...
PM tells Guardian Australia Hezbollah should cease reprisals and confirms Australia’s military surveillance aircraft will remain in regionGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has urged Israel to stop its attacks on Lebanon and raised concern over its intensified military campaign on Beirut and the country’s south after the ceasefire in the Middle East.Albanese also called on Hezbollah to cease attacks on Israel, reiterating his government’s belief that the Middle East ceasefire must include Lebanon. The prime minister also confirmed Australia’s military surveillance aircraft would remain in the region for at least another month beyond its initial deployment. Continue reading...
Health secretary says failure of peace talks ‘disappointing’ and that UK-US relations have undoubtedly been strainedMiddle East crisis – live updatesWes Streeting has criticised Donald Trump’s rhetoric on Iran as “incendiary, provocative and outrageous”, and called the failure of US-Iran peace talks “disappointing” but said the success of future negotiations was necessary “in all of our interests”.“As ever in diplomacy, you’re failing until you succeed,” the health secretary told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News. “So while these talks may not have ended in success, that doesn’t mean there isn’t merit in continuing to try.” Continue reading...
Ukraine reports 469 violations of Putin’s 32-hour ceasefire, hours after deadly drone attacks on Odesa and KhersonRussia continued to strike Ukrainian positions with drones after a Kremlin-declared Easter ceasefire took effect on Saturday, a Ukrainian military officer said.“The ceasefire is not being observed by the Russian side,” said Serhii Kolesnychenko, a communications officer for the 148th Separate Artillery Brigade. Continue reading...
• NATO members approved a €4.2 billion additional military assistance package for Ukraine on April 10, including air defense systems, ammunition, and electronic warfare equipment to counter Russian offensives.
• Russian forces intensified bombardment across the Donbas region this week, launching over 850 artillery strikes daily and deploying newly mobilized forces toward Pokrovsk, a key Ukrainian logistics hub 50 kilometers from the front.
• NATO Secretary-General emphasized the aid reflects alliance commitment to Ukraine's defense, with additional commitments expected at the NATO summit scheduled for June 2026 in Madrid.
New study describes what may be the first case of a unified community of chimps, in Uganda, turning on itselfOn a June day in 2015, primatologist Aaron Sandel was quietly observing a small cluster of the Ngogo chimpanzee group in Uganda’s Kibale national park when he noticed something strange. As other members of the chimpanzees’ wider group moved closer through the forest, the chimpanzees in front of him began to display nervous behaviour. They grimaced and touched each other for reassurance, acting more like they were about to meet strangers than close companions.In hindsight, Sandel said, that moment was the first sign of what would become a years-long bloody conflict between a once close-knit group of chimps. Continue reading...