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The U.S. government on Monday announced sanctions against three people and nine companies, including four based in Hong Kong and four in the United Arab Emirates, for aiding Iran’s shipment of oil to China. The ninth company is based in Oman.

The U.S. Treasury move follows sanctions announced on Friday on individuals and companies aiding Iranian purchases of weapons and components used to make drones and ballistic missiles.

It comes days before U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Xi Jinping, where he is expected to press the Chinese leader to help resolve the standoff with Iran and reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz.

Treasury said the new designations by the Office ⁠of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) were aimed at individuals and entities that helped Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sell and ship its allotment of Iranian oil to China using a series of front companies.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would keep using sanctions to deprive the Iranian government and military of funding for weapons, its nuclear program or support for proxies in the region.

“Treasury will continue to cut the Iranian regime off from the financial networks it uses to carry out terrorist acts and to destabilize the global economy,” Bessent said.

The State Department also announced a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of the IRGC, which is designated by Washington as a terrorist organization, and its branches.

Treasury said ⁠the IRGC relies on shell companies to arrange and receive payment for its allotment of Iranian oil shipments. It said Monday’s action builds on sanctions imposed in July 2025 on Golden Globe, a Turkey-based company that Treasury said handles hundreds of millions of dollars in IRGC oil sales annually.

The three people sanctioned by the United States work for the IRGC’s Shahid Purja’fari oil headquarters, coordinating payments through Golden Globe, Treasury said.

The companies targeted include:

• Hong ⁠Kong-based Hong Kong Blue Ocean Ltd and Hong Kong-based Hong Kong Sanmu Ltd, both of which Treasury described as cover companies that arrange the sale and shipment of Iranian oil.
• Dubai-based Ocean Allianz Shipping LLC and Sharjah-based Atic Energy FZE, which facilitated shipments of Iranian oil on five ⁠sanctioned shadow fleet tankers in 2025.
• Oman-based Zeus Logistics Group, which arranged vessels to carry Iranian oil cargoes.
• Hong Kong-based Jiandi HK Ltd, which signed a deal with the IRGC to purchase tens of millions of dollars of Iranian oil.
• Hong Kong-based Max Honor ⁠International Trade Co Ltd, which purchased millions of barrels of Iranian oil from the IRGC in 2025.
• Dubai-based Blanca Goods Wholesaler LLC.
• Dubai-based Universal Fortune Trading LLC, which Treasury said had also been used as a front company by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).

Source: Reuters

Donald Trump discussed how to mitigate the impact of a possible months-long U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports with U.S. oil companies, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. president urged Tehran to ‘get smart soon’ and sign a deal.

The talks with oil executives on Tuesday followed days of deadlock in efforts to resolve the conflict, which has led the U.S. to try to squeeze Iran’s oil exports with a naval blockade to try to force it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.

In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday before details of the meeting emerged, Trump, who has said Iran can call if it wants to talk, said the country “couldn’t get its act together”.

Trump’s talks with energy executives addressed potential steps to calm oil markets if it is necessary to continue the blockade of Iranian ports for months, a White House official said, adding they discussed U.S. oil production, oil futures, shipping and natural gas.

Oil prices rose almost 4% on Wednesday, with the Brent contract hitting a one-month high, after an initial report in the Wall Street Journal said the U.S. may ⁠extend its blockade.

Iran has pledged to continue disrupting traffic through the strait as long as it is threatened, which may mean more Middle East oil supply disruptions from the conflict, which has killed thousands and caused global economic upheaval.

Tehran warned on Wednesday of “unprecedented military action” against continued U.S. blockading of Iran-linked vessels. Trump has stressed repeatedly that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, while Tehran denies pursuing such a goal and insist on its right to a civilian nuclear programme.

“They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They’d better get smart soon!” Trump said in the post, without explaining what such a deal would entail.

It featured a mock-up image of him in dark glasses and wielding a machine gun with the caption “No more Mr. Nice Guy.”

IRAN’S ECONOMY UNDER PRESSURE AS CURRENCY PLUMMETS

Iran wants U.S. acknowledgment of its right to enrich uranium for what it says are peaceful, civilian purposes. It has a stockpile of roughly 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60%, material that could be used for several nuclear weapons if further enriched.

Iranian officials said on Tuesday the country could withstand the blockade as it was using alternative trade routes, and the Islamic Republic did not consider the war over.

In a sign of the economic toll the war is taking on Iran’s economy, its currency fell to a record low of 1,810,000 rials to the ⁠U.S. dollar on Wednesday, the Iranian Students’ News Agency said, as demand for foreign currency that built up during six weeks of fighting is now flowing into the open market.

The rial has seen its value fall by nearly 15% in the last two days alone, ISNA reported.

Inflation for the Iranian month running from March 20 to April 20 was 65.8%, the central bank said, a trend which is likely to be exacerbated by the currency’s plunge.

IRAN WANTS FORMAL END TO CONFLICT FIRST

Iran’s latest offer for resolving the war, suspended since April 8 under a ceasefire agreement, would set aside discussion of its nuclear programme until the conflict is formally ended and shipping issues resolved. However, this did not meet Trump’s demand ⁠to address the nuclear issue at the outset.

U.S. intelligence agencies, at the request of senior administration officials, are studying how Iran would respond if Trump were to declare a unilateral victory, two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Tehran has largely blocked all shipping apart from its own from the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for global energy supplies, since the war began on February 28. This month, the U.S. began blockading Iranian ships.

PRESSURE ON TRUMP ⁠TO END COSTLY WAR

Iran no longer has a single, undisputed clerical arbiter at the pinnacle of power since several senior Iranian political and military figures, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes.

The elevation of Khamenei’s wounded son, Mojtaba, to replace him has handed more power to hardline commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian officials and analysts say.

Meanwhile, Trump is under domestic pressure to end a war for which he has ⁠given shifting rationales to a U.S. public struggling with surging gasoline prices. His approval rating fell to the lowest level of his current term, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, which showed 34% of Americans approve of his performance, down from 36% in the prior survey.

Governments, particularly in Asia, are looking to conserve fuel and spending billions of dollars in subsidies. The European Union loosened state aid rules to let member states compensate agriculture, fisheries and transport firms for extra fuel and fertiliser costs till the end of 2026 but has yet to curb use.

Source: Reuters

In a tragic incident that occurred in Indonesia, at least three people were burned alive when Mount Dukono volcano erupted suddenly. 

It is being reported that about 20 hikers climbed the mountain despite the warning and no-go zone. 

Suddenly, the volcano erupted, and immediately the sky was filled with ash and smoke, resulting in the death of three people, two of whom were tourists from Singapore. 

Officials say that many foreign tourists are ignoring the danger just to create social media content.

Source: India.com

According to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Shake Hands-II is a joint counter-terrorism exercise conducted between the armies of Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“The two-week exercise commenced on April 27 at Tarbela, with the participation of Pakistan Army’s Special Services Group and Special Forces from the Sri Lankan Army.”

The statement said the exercise aimed to enhance professional capabilities through joint training while further strengthening the longstanding military-to-military relations between the two friendly nations.

“Participating troops will benefit from the exchange of operational experiences and expertise in counter-terrorism operations, contributing to improved interoperability and mutual understanding,” it added.

Pakistan’s armed forces regularly conduct joint exercises with foreign militaries to exchange professional expertise and strengthen combat readiness.

Last week, the Pakistan–Turkye Joint Commando and Special Forces Exercise Jinnah-XIII was successfully conducted in Turkiye, focusing on counterterrorism operations.

Earlier in April, Pakistan and Egypt commenced their joint exercise, Thunder-II, at the Special Operations School in Cherat.

In January, the Pakistan and United States armies conducted a joint military exercise titled ‘Inspired Gambit–2026’ aimed at enhancing counter-terrorism cooperation between the two forces.

Source: The Express Tribune 

The US military fired on an Iranian oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump intensified pressure on Tehran to reach a deal ending the war.

An American fighter jet fired several rounds at an unladen Iranian-flagged tanker attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, US Central Command said in a post on X.

Since the two sides agreed to a ceasefire on April 8, their negotiations have yielded no concrete results, and tensions have recently risen again.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said the US has had “very good talks” with Iran over the past 24 hours. He added there is “never a deadline” on when he expects Tehran to respond to a US proposal for ending the war.

Trump said that Iran has agreed to his chief demand regarding nuclear weapons, saying, “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and they won’t, and they’ve agreed to that, among other things”. However, there is no official confirmation of what Iran has or has not agreed to.

Iran said on Wednesday it was reviewing the new US proposal. Multiple media reports indicated Washington and Tehran were moving toward a one-page memorandum to end the war while deferring complex issues, such as Iran’s nuclear program, to later negotiations.

US media outlet Axios first reported a proposed 14-point, one-page memorandum to end the war. CNN, citing an unnamed source familiar with the negotiations, confirmed the information. The memorandum would declare an end to the war and trigger a 30-day negotiation period on resolving critical issues including nuclear matters, unfreezing Iranian assets and future security arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran is still reviewing a US proposal and will convey its response to Pakistan — which has served as the main intermediary between the two sides — after completing its assessment, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.

Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, expressed skepticism. He described the text reported by Axios as “more of an American wish list than a reality”.

“The Americans will not gain anything in a war they are losing that they have not gained in face-to-face negotiations,” Rezaei wrote in a social media post on Wednesday.

The firing occurred following the US launch of “Project Freedom”, a military operation to guide commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which major oil and gas supplies, fertilizer and other petroleum products passed before the war.

The US launched the mission on Sunday but halted it on Tuesday, citing progress in peace talks. Trump called the operation a “humanitarian gesture”, saying other countries had asked the US to “help free up their ships, which are locked up in the Strait of Hormuz”.

Iran and some analysts have disputed the US claims. Baghaei said the waterway had been safe for international shipping before US-Israeli attacks began.

Following the halt of Project Freedom, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said in a post on X on Wednesday that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is possible under “new procedures”, though it did not specify what these procedures entail.

Source: ChinaDaily 

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake shook part of northern Japan early Monday, but no damage or casualties have been reported.

No tsunami advisory was issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The quake struck 18 kilometers (11 miles) west of the small town of Sarabetsu on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido at a depth of 81 kilometers (50 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It measured the quake’s strength at 6.1 magnitude.

A week ago, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake prompted Japan to issue an advisory of a slightly higher risk of a possible megaquake for the nation’s northeastern coastal areas.

Source: AP

Actor-turned-politician Vijay, who made a memorable debut in politics by breaking the (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) DMK and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (AIADMK) traditional duopoly in the Tamil Nadu state, is likely to form a government as early as May 7, sources said.

The TVK emerged as the single-largest party with 108 seats in the 234-member assembly, falling short of the majority mark of 118.

Congress (which has 5 seats) has now decided to back Vijay - taking the seat count to 113. TVK insiders had told NDTV that they are counting on backing from other key DMK allies - CPI (two seats), CPM (two seats), and VCK (two seats).

While DMK won only 59 seats, Chief Minister MK Stalin lost his stronghold, Kolathur seat, to TVK. The AIADMK won 47 seats.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Tamilisai Soundarajan said Vijay’s big win in Tamil Nadu is not only an effect of a ‘Vijay wave’ but also an “anti-wave against MK Stalin, the misgovernance of the DMK, and the highly disturbed law-and-order situation”.

“Vijay has made his mark in one shot. He achieved significant numbers, even though he fell short by 10. He will receive support, and he should run a good government,” he said.

Source: NDTV

Norway said on Friday it would present ​a bill in parliament by year-end ‌to ban children from using social media until they turn 16, making technology companies responsible ​for the task of age verification.

Several ​European nations seeking to rein in ⁠children's use of social media after Australia ​took the lead with a world-first ban on ​under-16s last December.

"We are introducing this legislation because we want a childhood where children get to ​be children," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr ​Stoere said in a statement.

"Play, friendships, and everyday ‌life ⁠must not be taken over by algorithms and screens. This is an important measure to safeguard children's digital lives."

The government ​did not ​say which ⁠applications would be targeted.

Australia's ban covers Meta (META.O), apps such as ​Instagram and Facebook as well as ​TikTok, ⁠Snapchat (SNAP.N), Google's (GOOGL.O), YouTube and Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter.

Norway will introduce its bill in ⁠parliament ​by the end of ​2026, the minority Labour government said.

(Reuters)

DMK president M.K. Stalin has resigned as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. A communication in this regard was sent to Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Monday (May 4, 2026) night.

Mr. Stalin’s resignation was sent to the Governor’s office in Lok Bhavan on Monday night, an informed source said. As per convention, the Governor is expected to request the incumbent Chief Minister to continue as interim Chief Minister, until the new government assumes office.

Source:The Hindu 

Lebanon and Israel extended their ceasefire for three weeks after a high-level meeting at the White House, U.S. President Donald ​Trump said on Thursday.

Trump hosted Israel's ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese ambassador to the U.S. Nada Moawad in the Oval Office for a second round of U.S.-facilitated talks, a ‌day after Israeli strikes killed at least five people including a journalist.

"The Meeting went very well! The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah," Trump wrote on Truth Social. Hezbollah, the Iran-aligned armed group that is fighting Israel, was not present at the talks. It says it has "the right to resist" occupying forces.

Trump added that he looked forward to hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the near future.

Trump also spoke to reporters in the ​Oval Office alongside the participants in the meeting, saying he hoped the leaders would meet during the three-week cessation of hostilities. He said there was "a great chance" the two countries would reach a peace ​agreement this year.

Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa also attended the meeting.

The ⁠ceasefire, reached after talks between the two nations' ambassadors to Washington last week, was set to expire on Sunday. It has yielded a significant reduction in violence, but attacks have continued in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops ​have seized a self-declared buffer zone.

Ambassador Moawad, who went into the meeting seeking an extension of the ceasefire, thanked Trump for hosting the talks. "I think with your help, with your support, we can make Lebanon great ​again," she said.

A Lebanese official earlier said Beirut would push for an Israeli withdrawal, the return of Lebanese detained in Israel and a delineation of the land border in a next phase of negotiations.

(Reuters) 

In Tamil Nadu, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party, led by actor Vijay, is making significant gains, overtaking the ruling DMK. Early results show TVK leading in 66 constituencies, with the DMK ahead in 49 and AIADMK in 45.

Vijay himself is leading in both of the constituencies where he is contesting—Perambur and Trichy East—highlighting his growing influence in the state’s politics. The surge by TVK has positioned it as the single largest party in the ongoing assembly elections, reshaping the traditional political landscape.

While projections remain provisional, the rising popularity of Vijay’s party indicates a shift in voter sentiment, with the actor-politician’s entry adding a new dynamic to Tamil Nadu’s political scene.

Source: Hans India

This live blog is now closedPolling to elect the 17 th Tamil Nadu Assembly was held on Thursday (April 23, 2026) from 7 a.m. till 6 p.m.

The total electoral strength of Tamil Nadu stands at 5.73 crore, comprising 2.93 women, 2.83 crore men, and 7,728 third-gender persons. It includes 14,59,039 first-time voters.

As of 8.50 p.m. on Thursday, 85.05% of Tamil Nadu’s electorate cast their votes in the Assembly election, which will decide the electoral fate of 4,023 candidates in the fray. For the first time in Tamil Nadu since Independence, the State touched 85% voter turnout and the final data from the Election Commission of India is yet to be released. 

Travel across the State saw disruptions, with many commuters facing delays and difficulty in accessing bus services while trying to reach their hometowns to cast their votes. 

While largely peaceful, voting day was marked by some untoward incidents, chief of them being the stabbing of a head constable at a polling booth in the Poompuhar Assembly constituency of Mayiladuthurai district. In Harbour constituency, an altercation over alleged ‘booth rigging’ broke out between Minister and DMK candidate P.K. Sekarbabu, along with his supporters, and TVK candidate Ashok and his supporters. 

Some poll boycotts were also reported across the State. Residents of the Scheduled Caste hamlet of Vengaivayal – where an overhead tank for supplying drinking water was allegedly contaminated with human faeces in 2022 – stayed away from the elections in protest. 

The high-stakes contest primarily pits the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance against the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance, with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin seeking to retain power and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami fighting to return to the treasury benches after five years.

THE HINDU